Application To Upper Tribunal (UT) For Permission To Apply For Judicial Review (JR)

You can apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR) after the Respondent has maintained its decision in the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) response. An application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review must be filed within 3 months of the date of decision which is being challenged in court.

How To Apply?

You can apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR) by using T480 UTIAC Judicial Review Claim Form for challenging an immigration refusal decision. The claim form must include or be accompanied by –

  • a detailed statement of the claimant’s grounds for bringing the claim for judicial review;
  • a statement of the facts relied on;
  • any application to extend the time limit for filing the claim form; and
  • any application for directions.

Where you are seeking to raise any issue under the Human Rights Act 1998, or a remedy available under that Act, the claim form must include the information required by paragraph 16 of the Practice Direction supplementing Part 16 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The claim form must also be accompanied by

  • any written evidence in support of the claim or application to extend time;
  • a copy of any order that you are seeking to have quashed;
  • where the claim for judicial review relates to a decision of a court or tribunal, an approved copy of the reasons for reaching that decision;
  • copies of any documents upon which you propose to rely;
  • copies of any relevant statutory material;
  • a list of essential documents for advance reading by the court (with page references to the passages relied upon). Where only part of a page needs to be read, that part should be indicated, by side-lining or in some other way, but not by highlighting.

Where it is not possible for you to file all the above documents, you must indicate which documents have not been filed and the reasons why they are not currently available. The defendant and/or the interested party may seek an extension of time for the lodging of its acknowledgement of service pending receipt of the missing documents.

You must also lodge sufficient additional copies of the claim form for the court to seal them (i.e. stamp them with the court seal) so that you can serve them on the defendant and any interested parties. The sealed copies will be returned to you so that you can serve them on the defendant and any interested parties.

If you are represented by solicitors they must also provide a paginated, indexed bundle of the relevant legislative provisions and statutory instruments required for the proper consideration of the application. If you are acting in person you should comply with this requirement if possible.

Application For Urgent Consideration Or Interim Order

If you want to make an application for your application for permission to be heard/considered by a Judge as a matter of urgency and/or to seek an interim injunction, you must complete a Request for Urgent Consideration, Form T483 UTIAC Judicial Review – Application for urgent consideration. The form sets out the reasons for urgency and the timescale sought for the consideration of the permission application, e.g. within 72 hours or sooner if necessary, and the date by which the substantive hearing should take place.

Where you are seeking an interim injunction, you must, in addition, provide a draft order; and the grounds for the injunction. You must serve the claim form, the draft order and the application for urgency on the Respondent and interested parties (by FAX and by post), advising them of the application and informing them that they may make representations directly to the Court in respect of your application.

A judge of Upper Tribunal will consider the application within the time requested and may make such order as he/she considers appropriate. The judge may refuse your application for permission at this stage if he/she considers it appropriate, in the circumstances, to do so.

If the Judge directs that an oral hearing must take place within a specified time the Upper Tribunal will liaise with you and the representatives of the other parties to fix a permission hearing within the time period directed.

Where a manifestly inappropriate urgency application is made, consideration may, in appropriate cases, be given by the Upper Tribunal to making a wasted costs order.

Serving JR Bundle On The Respondent & Any Interested Parties

The sealed copy of Judicial Review (JR) bundle must be served on the Respondent and any person that you consider to be an interested party (unless the court directs otherwise) within 5 days of the date of issue (i.e. the date shown on the court seal).

You should lodge a Statement under Upper Tribunal Rule 28A (2)(b) in the Upper Tribunal within 7 days of serving the Respondent and other interested parties.

Acknowledgement Of Service (AOS)

Any person who has been served with the claim form and who wishes to take part in the judicial review should file an acknowledgment of service in the Upper Tribunal, within 21 days of the proceedings being served upon them. In immigration cases, the Acknowledgement of Service (AOS) is filed by the Government Legal Department (GLD) on behalf of their client, the Home Office, UKVI.

The acknowledgement of service must set out the summary of grounds for contesting the claim and the name and address of any person considered to be an interested party (who has not previously been identified and served as an interested party).

The acknowledgement of service must be served upon you and the interested parties no later than 7 days after it is filed with the Upper Tribunal. Failure to file an acknowledgement of service renders it necessary for the party concerned to obtain the permission of the court to take part in any oral hearing of the application for permission.

Decision On An Application For Permission To Apply For Judicial Review

Applications for permission to proceed with the claim for Judicial Review are considered by a single judge on the papers. The purpose of this procedure is to ensure that applications are dealt with speedily and without unnecessary expense. The papers will be forwarded to the judge by the Upper Tribunal upon receipt of the Acknowledgement of Service or at the expiry of the time limit for lodging such acknowledgement – whichever is earlier.

The judge’s decision and the reasons for it will be served upon you, the Respondent and any other person served with the claim form. If the judge grants permission and you wish to pursue the claim, you must lodge a further fee of £700.00 (or a further Application for Remission of Fee (Form EX160) with the Upper Tribunal within 7 days of service of the judge’s decision upon you. If you do not lodge the additional fee, your file will be closed by the Upper Tribunal.

If permission is refused, or is granted subject to conditions or on certain grounds only, you may request a reconsideration of that decision at an oral hearing.

Legal Costs If Your Application Is Unsuccessful

The general rule is that the party losing a substantive claim for judicial review will be ordered to pay the costs of the other parties. However, the Judge considering the matter has discretion to deal with the issue of costs as he/she considers appropriate in all of the circumstances. Costs may be awarded in respect of an unsuccessful paper application. Any application by the Respondent/interested party for costs will normally be made in the Acknowledgment of Service.

How Can We Help?

As specialist immigration solicitors, we can represent you in your application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR). Our immigration solicitors will carry out all the work on your permission application for Judicial Review until a decision is made by the Upper Tribunal Judge on your permission application. The immigration casework for your application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review will entail the following:

  • Assessing the refusal decision and idetifying any potential grounds for challenging the refusal decision of the Home Office UKVI by way of Judicial Review in the Upper Tribunal;
  • Advising you about the relevant immigration law and procedure to be adopted by the Upper Tribunal in your application for permission to apply for Judicial Review;
  • Discussing your Judicial Review case in detail with you and advising you about the weaknesses and strengths of your Judicial Review against the Home Office UKVI;
  • If necessary, instructing an immigration Barrister for drafting of grounds in support of the paper application for permission to apply for Judicial Review;
  • Completing the Claim Form for Judicial Review and preparing a list of essential reading;
  • Preparing an indexed and paginated Judicial Review (JR) bundles containing all the relevant documents to be relied upon by the Applicant;
  • Preparing a cover letter to introduce and support the application for permission to apply for Judicial Review and filing the application with the Upper Tribunal;
  • Assessing the grounds of defense filed by the Government Legal Department (GLD) in the Acknowledgement of Service (AOS) and discussing the same in detail with you;
  • Doing all the follow-up work on the application until decision is made by the Upper Tribunal Judge on your permission application for Judicial Review (JR).

How Much We Charge?

Unless your matter is extremely complicated, our fees for our professional services for an application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review are as given in the fee table below:

Our Service Fixed Fee Range Hourly Rate
Full representations to cover all our work on your application to Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR) £1000 + VAT to £5000 + VAT £150 + VAT to £350 + VAT per hour

The agreed fixed fee or hourly rate will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of casework involved in the application. In addition to our fixed fee, the applicant will also have to pay the court fee for Judicial Review and the Barrister’s fee for drafting grounds for Judicial Review.

No Win No Fee

We can also act for you on no win no fee basis in relation to your application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to apply for Judicial Review if we find that the chances of success in your application are 100%. The fee to be charged on No Win No Fee basis will depend on the complexity of the case and chances of success in the case. If the paper application for permission to apply for Judicial Review is unsuccessful, you will not have to pay our fees for our professional services.

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