The International Protection Act 2015 provides for applications for international protection (refugee status and subsidiary protection) as well as permission to remain cases to be processed as part of a ‘single procedure’. Following consideration of an application for international protection, an International Protection Officer may make a recommendation:

  • That an applicant should be given a refugee declaration, OR

  • That he or she should not be given a refugee declaration but should be given a subsidiary protection declaration, OR

  • That he or she should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration.

The International Protection Appeals Tribunal has jurisdiction to determine appeals against the following recommendations relating to the grant of international protection:

  • Recommendation to refuse Refugee Status only (This is an appeal against a recommendation under section 39(3)(b) of the International Protection Act 2015), or

  • Recommendation to refuse both Refugee and Subsidiary Protection Status (This is an appeal against a recommendation under Section 39(3)(c) of the International Protection Act 2015, or

  • Recommendation to refuse Subsidiary Protection Status only (This is an appeal against a recommendation under section 39 (3)(c) in conjunction with the transitional provisions in section 70(6)(d) of the International Protection Act 2015).

Legal aid is available for these appeals; more information about this is available on our How To Appeal page.

Time limits within which to appeal are set out in the International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulations 2017 as amended by the International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

An appeal against a recommendation that an applicant

  • should not be given a refugee declaration and should be given a subsidiary protection declaration, or
  • should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration.

must generally be submitted within 15 working days from the date of the notification of the recommendation.

However, in some cases the time limit may be shorter:

A shorter appeal deadline of 10 working days applies where the recommendation of the International Protection Officer includes a finding under s.39(4) of the International Protection Act 2015 that:

  • An applicant, in submitting their application and in presenting the grounds of their application in their preliminary interview or personal interview or at any time before the conclusion of the examination, has raised only issues that are not relevant or are of minimal relevance to his or her eligibility for international protection

  • An applicant has made inconsistent, contradictory, improbable or insufficient representations which make their claim to be eligible for international protection clearly unconvincing

  • An applicant has failed without reasonable cause to make their application as soon as reasonably practicable having had opportunity to do so

  • That the applicant is not in need of international protection because in a part of their country of origin the applicant has no well-founded fear of being persecuted or is not at real risk of suffering serious harm, or has access to protection against persecution or serious harm, and can safely and legally travel to and gain admittance to that part of the country and can reasonably be expected to settle there or

  • That the applicant’s country of origin has been deemed by the Minister for Justice to be a safe country of origin.

International protection appeals are determined in writing either following an oral hearing or on the basis of the papers which are before the Tribunal. Where there is an oral hearing, notice of this will be given at least 20 working days beforehand (Regulation 6(1) International Protection Act 2015 (Procedures and Periods for Appeals) Regulation 2017).

Accelerated appeal procedures in certain cases: In relation to appeals in relation to which, following a finding under s.39(4) of the International Protection Act 2015, section 43 of the Act applies, the Tribunal, unless it considers it is not in the interests of justice to do so, shall make its decision without an oral hearing. Should an oral hearing be deemed necessary, a shorter notice period of 10 working days applies. Both notice periods may be shorter if all parties consent (Regulation 6(3)).

Submissions may be made in writing to the Tribunal to supplement the Notice of Appeal provided they are submitted no later than 10 working days in advance of the hearing. In relation to appeals to which section 43 of the International Protection Act 2015 applies, and where an oral hearing has been deemed necessary in the interest of justice, any submissions to the Tribunal must be made in writing no later than 5 working days in advance of the hearing (Regulation 6(4)). Additional information about practice and procedure at the Tribunal may be found in the Administrative Practice Note.

Appeal Forms

Notice of Appeal – Refugee and Subsidiary Protection Status Appeal (Form 1)
Notice of Appeal – Accelerated appeal procedures (Refugee and Subsidiary Protection Status Appeal (Form 1A)
This page was last updated on November 14, 2024