If your immigration application has been refused by the Home Office, your next step could be to attend an Immigration Tribunal to appeal the decision and explain your case. Going to court in any circumstance can be a daunting experience. So why then would you want to represent yourself at your own Immigration Tribunal? Well one of the main reasons will probably be costs; everyone knows that instructing a lawyer to represent you is likely to be costly. Immigration lawyers’ fees can vary significantly, but unfortunately this tends to be an indication of their success rate, with the best lawyers charging more than lawyers who are not so successful, due to inexperience, high workload or lack of proper training.

So, what then makes a successful lawyer in Immigration and Asylum proceedings and how can you achieve this for yourself?

You don’t need to be a solicitor to present your own appeal in a clear and forthright manner. What you really need is a thorough understanding of your full case. What does that mean? It means you need to understand all the reasons why your application was refused, and then you must provide evidence to address all of the reasons for refusal. Knowing exactly what you are trying to prove with specific evidence will help you to present your case in a clear and well-organised manner.