Appeals lodged in the First-tier Tribunal up 53% and continued “significant increase” of asylum appeals expected

The Senior President of Tribunals has published his 2024 annual report on the tribunals.

The section on the First-tier Tribunal (IAC) reports:

In 2023/24, FtTIAC receipts increased by 53% to 58,000, compared with 2022/23. This mirrors an increase in Home Office decision-making of asylum claims. It is expected that asylum appeals will continue to significantly increase, alongside the outstanding caseload. Such appeals often involve vulnerable appellants and detailed evidence of difficult and traumatic events including torture, persecution and family separation, and are among the more complex and demanding of our caseload.

The tribunal also reported an increase in the number of appeals against deprivation of citizenship and said that guidance on these cases is “still emerging” from the higher courts.

The Upper Tribunal write up drew attention to the following cases:

Particular topics that are featuring in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration & Asylum Chamber) (UTIAC) caseload regularly include the jurisdiction in relation to deprivation appeals (as reported last year). In relation to international protection, guidance has been provided in the case of JCK v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKUT 00100 in relation to the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 pertaining to the proof of refugee status. The departure of the UK from the EU and the provisions put in place as a consequence continue to provide a source of casework. In particular, the application of the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to the circumstances of deportation cases was the subject of detailed consideration in Abdullah v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKUT 00066. The question of the compliance of the legislation relating to immigration bail and electronic tagging with Article 8 of the ECHR was examined in detail in the recent case of R (on the application of Nelson) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024} 00141. The need for procedural rigour in the appeals heard in the IAC has also been a continuing theme this year in cases such as Maleci v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] 00028.