Dimple Singh v Secretary of State for the Home Department

An appeal under section 82 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 exists only where there is an immigration decision as defined by that Act. A refusal letter, including a rejection of an application for further leave, is not itself the notice of immigration decision and does not create a right of appeal.

Where no immigration decision has been made, the First-tier Tribunal has no jurisdiction. Judges considering appeals and permission applications should ensure that a notice of decision exists and require it to be produced where necessary.

The appellant, an Indian national, applied for indefinite leave to remain as a spouse. The First-tier Tribunal treated a refusal letter as a decision refusing variation of leave and dismissed her appeal.

On an appeal to the Upper Tribunal, neither the Tribunal file nor the respondent’s records contained a notice of immigration decision. The respondent accepted that no such decision had ever been issued. The central issue was whether the First-tier Tribunal had jurisdiction to determine an appeal in those circumstances.

1. Appeal dismissed for want of jurisdiction. The First-tier Tribunal’s decision was set aside because it purported to determine an appeal despite there being no immigration decision.

2. Under section 82(1) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the right of appeal arises from an immigration decision contained in a notice of decision. A reasons-for-refusal letter is not the notice of immigration decision and does not itself generate an appeal right.

3. The rejection of the appellant’s application for further leave was therefore not an appealable immigration decision. Rashid Anwar [2010] EWCA Civ 1275 concerned different questions about whether a decision was appealable; it did not assist where no immigration decision had been made at all.

4. The Tribunal gave practical guidance. If no notice of decision is on the file, the parties should be asked to check for one and the Home Office should make prompt enquiries. If no decision exists, the appeal will usually be disposed of immediately for want of jurisdiction. A grant of permission may be made conditional upon production of the notice.

• Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber): Set aside the First-tier Tribunal’s decision and re-made it by dismissing the appeal for want of jurisdiction.

• First-tier Tribunal: Treated a refusal letter as an immigration decision refusing variation of leave and dismissed the appeal.