Jo Hynes, Dr Joe Tomlinson, Emma Marshall, Jack Maxwell, Maria Wardale and Cecilia Correale Published: 26th August 2020 This report examines the transition to using the online procedure to manage appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). Online Immigration Appeals: A Case Study of the First-tier Tribunal This new system involves the introduction of a digital platform to lodge and track appeals, as well as an adapted appeal process that aims to provide more active case management and encourage earlier engagement from parties. Our research into this online procedure has two parts: first, an exploration of its use in the pilot phase in 2019, and second, its unplanned expansion as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to June 2020. We also explore wider developments in the Tribunal’s transition to an online court during the pandemic, and the adoption of remote hearings in particular. In the FtTIAC, substantive hearing lists were vacated from March 2020 to June 2020. Instead, only Case Management Review Hearings and immigration bail hearings were heard. These were conducted almost exclusively via telephone, with some later hearings heard via the video conferencing platform, Cloud Video Platform (CVP). Our research explores the impact of these developments and how they have interacted with the online procedure. You can download the full report below. Online Immigration Appeals: A Case Study of the First-tier Tribunal