Court of Appeal Confirms Right to Challenge Termination of Asylum Support (19 December 2025)

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD), confirming that the First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) has jurisdiction to hear appeals relating to the termination of asylum support where an asylum claim has been treated as withdrawn.

The judgment confirms an important route of challenge for asylum seekers who face the loss of accommodation and financial support following withdrawal decisions. It clarifies that the Asylum Support Tribunal can consider whether an asylum claim was validly treated as withdrawn when assessing entitlement to support.

Read the judgment: SSHD v First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) and Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 1654.

Background: asylum claim withdrawals and eviction from accommodation

This case arose in the context of an increase in decisions by the SSHD to treat asylum claims as withdrawn, alongside the government’s commitment to clearing the asylum backlog.

In a number of cases, asylum seekers were not aware that their claims had been treated as withdrawn. This was often due to correspondence being sent to incorrect addresses, including where individuals were living in Home Office-provided accommodation.

Following a decision to treat an asylum claim as withdrawn, the SSHD may terminate asylum support and seek to end an individual’s accommodation, on the basis that they are no longer an “asylum seeker” within the meaning of section 94 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

In the cases before the court, eviction notices stated that there was no right of appeal to the Asylum Support Tribunal under section 103 of the 1999 Act against the decision to terminate or refuse support.

Combined with the Home Office’s position on eligibility for other forms of support, and the limited availability of alternative accommodation, this placed some individuals at risk of destitution without an obvious route to challenge the decision.

Proceedings before the Tribunal and the courts

Four individuals facing the termination of their asylum support, including our client MAH, sought to appeal their support decisions to the Asylum Support Tribunal.

Their appeals were heard together by the Tribunal’s Principal Judge as a lead case to determine whether the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear appeals in these circumstances, and whether it could examine the circumstances in which the asylum claims had been treated as withdrawn.

In a determination dated 14 June 2024, the Tribunal concluded that it did have jurisdiction. The Principal Judge found that the Tribunal was entitled to examine whether the underlying decision to withdraw an asylum claim had been validly made when considering the lawfulness of the decision to discontinue asylum support. In MAH’s case, the Tribunal concluded that his asylum claim had been withdrawn in error and should be reviewed by the SSHD.

The High Court upheld the Tribunal’s decision, finding that the Tribunal had jurisdiction under section 103 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and was entitled to assess whether an asylum claim had been validly treated as withdrawn when determining entitlement to section 95 asylum support.

Court of Appeal decision

The SSHD appealed to the Court of Appeal. In a judgment handed down on 18 December 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

The Court confirmed that the Asylum Support Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear appeals against decisions to terminate asylum support and may consider whether the underlying asylum claim was lawfully treated as withdrawn. The decision provides clarity on the scope of the Tribunal’s powers in these cases.

Legal representation

MAH was represented by Katie Nelson and Bahar Ata of Duncan Lewis Solicitors, instructing Irena Sabic KC and Alex Grigg of Garden Court Chambers.

The Asylum Support Appeals Project intervened in the proceedings, instructing Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, with Michael Spencer and Finnian Clarke of Doughty Street Chambers instructed as counsel.

Further Media Coverage

• Newborn Baby Made Homeless by Home Office in Frenzy to Clear Asylum Backlog, The Guardian
• ‘We’ve No Idea Where You Are but You’re Evicted, Home Office Tells Migrants’, iNews
• Asylum Support Tribunal Says It Can Consider Lawfulness of Home Office Withdrawal of Asylum Claims, Free Movement

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis’ Public Law team, ranked in Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500 UK directories, has a broad practice representing both privately and publicly funded (legal aid) clients in matters involving immigration; asylum and human rights and deportation matters, with a niche practice in immigration and civil liberties claimant judicial review matters. They have significant practice in challenging delays in Home Office decision-making, unlawful immigration detention cases with high value claims for damages and challenging immigration removal decisions, particularly third country removal cases.