Guides:

What usually happens at an oral hearing

This page describes the usual stages of an oral hearing: introduction, questions, closing points and Judge's decision.

Hearing room
One of the Tribunal's hearing rooms

Introduction

How do I talk to the Judge?

  • If the Judge is a man, call him ‘Sir’
  • If the Judge is a woman, call her ‘Madam’

Questions

Important – toilet break, feeling ill or upset

If you need to go to the toilet during the hearing, let the Judge know.

If you feel ill or upset during the hearing, ask the Judge if you can have a short break.

Closing points

Judge’s decision

The Judge usually tells you their decision at the end of the hearing. There are 3 types of decision:

‘Allowed’ – you win your appeal. You will get, or keep getting, asylum support.

‘Dismissed’ – you lose your appeal. If you are already living in Home Office accommodation, you may be told to leave very soon (even the same or next day).

‘Remitted’ – the Judge asks the Home Office to make a new decision on your case. If you were already getting asylum support before the appeal, this support continues until the Home Office makes its new decision.

The Judge will write a Decision Notice to confirm the result at the end of the hearing. This is a single piece of paper.

After the hearing, the Judge will write a Statement of Reasons to explain their decision in more detail. You should get the Statement of Reasons by post 3 days after the hearing (unless it is sent to your representative, if you have one).