When further submissions are used
Further submissions are new representations to the Home Office after a protection or human rights claim has been refused and all appeal rights have ended. They are used where something has changed since the earlier decision: new evidence, a change in country conditions, a new relationship or child, a change in your health, or a change in the law. They are not a way to repeat an argument that has already been rejected.
The test
The Home Office will first decide whether your submissions are simply a repeat or whether they amount to a “fresh claim”. A fresh claim is one that is significantly different from the earlier material, so that, taken together with it, it has a realistic prospect of success. If the Home Office finds a fresh claim, it considers it afresh, and a refusal then carries a new right of appeal. If it finds that the submissions do not amount to a fresh claim, it rejects them without a right of appeal.
What makes a good set of submissions
- What is new. Identify exactly what has changed since the last decision, and why it could not have been put before.
- Evidence. New documents, expert and medical reports, and up-to-date country evidence.
- Why it matters. Explain how each new point makes a difference to the earlier reasoning, with reference to the rules and case law.
- A clear request. Say what you are asking for: protection, or leave on human rights grounds.
The risks
Further submissions do not stop removal action. If removal has been scheduled, urgent steps may be needed. Submissions that are weak or late can lead to a refusal that closes off the route, and the Home Office may take the view that a claim made late is not credible. Take advice before making them, and do not send them in a hurry.
Reporting and detention
If you have been detained, further submissions are often made at speed, with bail and removal directions in the background. See immigration detention and bail.
How we help
We assess whether there is a fresh claim, prepare the submissions and evidence, and, where the Home Office accepts them as a fresh claim and refuses them, prepare and file the Notice of Appeal. See asylum appeals and human rights and private life applications.
