London(UK) People with no legal right to remain in the UK should be removed more quickly after a new 24-week target for certain asylum and immigration appeals came into force this month, Punjab Outlook reports. From 12 August 2026, the First-tier Tribunal is expected to hear new appeals from non-detained foreign national offenders and people receiving asylum support and accommodation within 24 weeks of the case arriving at the tribunal.
The current average wait for a judge’s decision is 67 weeks. The Home Office says faster decisions will speed removals after unsuccessful appeals, free space in taxpayer-funded accommodation and contribute to estimated savings of £6.9 billion. Minister for Border Security and Asylum Anna Turley said delays had left the public “to foot the bill while cases drag on for months and sometimes years.”“This new 24-week target will see cases resolved faster, reduce reliance on taxpayer-funded accommodation and speed up the removal of those with no right to be in the UK,” she said.The target applies only to new in-scope cases lodged from 12 August.
Detained foreign national offenders were already being prioritised. Officials say sitting days in the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber are due to rise by 19% this year compared with 2024–25.That will not, on its own, clear the existing pile-up. More than 150,000 appeals are still waiting to be heard. The government argues the tribunal cannot keep pace and that the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which passed its second reading earlier this month, is needed for a deeper overhaul.The bill would create an Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA) to sit alongside the First-tier Tribunal for several years, gradually taking on new cases so judges can work through the backlog.
Independent adjudicators would be able to prioritise urgent and public-interest cases, including high-harm offenders and human rights claims the Home Office describes as dubious. The new body is expected to start hearing cases from late 2027.Ministers point to other figures they say show the system is already tightening. Asylum costs have fallen by £1 billion since the 2024 general election. Fewer than 170 asylum hotels remain in use, down from a peak of about 400 in 2023, with a pledge to close every hotel by the end of this parliament. Nearly 10,000 foreign national offenders have been removed up 36% on the 21 months before the election.Immigration lawyers are more sceptical. The Immigration Law Practitioners Association has said a 24-week deadline will not cut the backlog and could leave unrepresented appellants struggling to gather evidence in time.
Under the current legal-aid fee structure, firms often cannot bill until a case ends, which ILPA argues discourages lawyers from taking on more appeals while old files sit unpaid.The government presents the new target as an immediate operational fix and the IIAA as the longer-term answer: fewer delays, less hotel spending, and quicker exits for people whose claims fail. Whether 24 weeks becomes reality for the cases now entering the system — and whether the backlog of more than 150,000 starts to fall — will be the test over the coming year.Source: Punjab Outlook — www.punjaboutlook.com