Asylum seekers may to pay towards cost of appeals

Asylum seekers and migrants who want to appeal against decisions made against them will be charged under new plans.

Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly said yesterday it was "reasonable" for non-UK citizens to be asked to contribute to the administration costs of appeals, especially as two-thirds of appeal cases were declined each year.

The costs are expected to be about 125 for oral hearings and 65 for paper hearings, with onward appeals to the Upper Tribunal costing about 250, the Ministry of Justice consultation paper, published today, showed.

Costs are currently met by the Ministry of Justice, through funds provided by taxpayers, and from fees levied on visa applicants by the UK Border Agency.

There were about 197,000 appeals in 2009-10.