Appeals Procedure

My application has been refused. How can I appeal against the officer's decision?

If your application has been refused and it attracts a full right of appeal then you will need to submit to the High Commission a completed Notice of Appeal Form AIT-2 (NOA) (which you will find attached to your Notice of Refusal (NOR)) within 28 days of the date of the refusal. If your application does not attract a full right of appeal you will still be entitled to appeal on race relations or human rights grounds. Your refusal notice will tell you how to do this.

Do I need to submit any copies?

You will need to submit the original NOA, original or certified true copies of ALL supporting documents, together with two (2) copies of the NOA and all supporting documents, to the British High Commission (BHC) in Kuala Lumpur OR directly to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) in the UK. Please check the addresses at the back of the NOR and NOA respectively.

How long will my appeal take?

If you have submitted your appeal to the High Commission, the Entry Clearance Officer and Entry Clearance Manager will review it within one month. If you do not hear from the High Commission within the month, then the decision will have been taken to refer your Appeal to the AIT for their decision. The High Commission will issue you with a letter to advise you of this. Consideration by the AIT can take between 6 to 12 months. There is nothing that the High Commission can do to speed up this process. Once the AIT have made their decision they will contact you or your representative directly by post.

What if I do not want to wait for AIT's decision? Can I re-apply?

If you wish to re-apply for the same category of visa, you must withdraw your existing appeal by submitting a withdrawal letter together with the Notice of Withdrawal of Appeal (APP9) form, which you can obtain from the UK Visa Application Centre.

How can I check my appeal status during this period?

Please do not contact us until one month after the submission of your appeal has passed. Thereafter, if you have not heard from the High Commission, you can make enquiries about your appeal status by e-mailing VisaAppeals.KualaLumpur@fco.gov.uk, stating the post reference number (written at the top of your refusal notice), your full name, date of birth and passport number. For enquiries on the status of your appeal once it has been sent to the AIT you will need to contact them directly on fax: +44 1509221699 or, if they have already written to you, by using the contact details on their letter and quoting the reference number they have allocated to you.

How will I know if my appeal has been successful?

The AIT will advise you of their decision directly by post. If your appeal has been successful, a member of the High Commission will contact you directly to ask you to resubmit your passport and other documents for further consideration.

Appeals Department
British High Commission
Updated 7th November 2007