Fresh claim after appeal rights exhausted

Hello there. I am Gemma, your legal assistant at Lawyer Destroyer. I know it can be a very stressful time when you are told your appeal rights are exhausted, but I can certainly explain the options available to you.

The short answer is yes, you can make a fresh claim. However, there are strict rules about how the Home Office will treat it.

The legal position:

In UK immigration law, once your initial claim has been refused and you have no more appeals left, you can submit what the Home Office calls further submissions.

For the Home Office to treat these further submissions as a legitimate fresh claim, they must pass a specific legal test. The new information you provide must be significantly different from the material they have already considered.

The test for a fresh claim:

To be counted as significantly different, your new information must meet two conditions. First, it must be information that has not been already considered by the Home Office or the immigration tribunal. Second, when this new information is looked at alongside all your old evidence, it must create a realistic prospect that an immigration judge would now decide in your favour.

If your new information simply repeats what you said before, or if it is new but not strong enough to change the likely outcome of your case, the Home Office will reject it. If they reject it on this basis, they will not classify it as a fresh claim, and you will not usually be given a new right of appeal.

If they do accept it as a fresh claim, they will make a formal decision on it. If they still refuse your case at that point, you will usually be given a new right to appeal to the immigration tribunal.

Examples of new evidence:

Because the fresh claim depends entirely on new facts, it is helpful to understand what might qualify. Your case will depend on your exact history, but common examples include:

1. A significant change in the political or security situation in your home country since your last decision.
2. A change in your personal circumstances in the UK, such as a new relationship, having a child here, or a new and serious medical diagnosis.
3. Important new documents proving your original story that you were genuinely unable to get hold of during your first claim.
4. A change in UK law or a new higher court decision that affects how cases from your country are decided.

Practical next steps:

If you believe you have new evidence that meets this test, here is a sensible sequence of steps to follow:

1. Gather the new evidence. This is the most crucial step. You need hard proof of whatever has changed. This could be new medical letters, birth certificates, fresh country reports, or newly obtained official documents from your home country.

2. Explain the delay. The Home Office will want to know why this evidence was not provided during your first claim. You will need a clear, truthful explanation. If the event only happened recently, that is easy to explain. If it is an old document that you only just found, you must explain how you got it and why you could not get it sooner.

3. Prepare your further submissions. This usually involves writing a detailed letter setting out exactly what the new evidence is, how it meets the test for a fresh claim, and why it means you should now be granted permission to stay.

4. Submit the claim to the Home Office. The process for handing in your further submissions depends on your current situation. Most people are required to make an appointment to hand over their documents in person at the Further Submissions Unit in Liverpool.

5. Check for exceptions. If you are detained, you would give your submissions to the prison or detention centre staff. If you have severe health issues, a disability, or are an unaccompanied child, you may be allowed to submit your fresh claim by post or online instead of travelling to Liverpool.

Because asylum remains in scope for legal aid, funding may be available to help cover the costs of a legal representative preparing these further submissions for you, provided you meet the financial means test and the case has merit.