- The UK Home Office implemented a twenty-four week target for asylum and immigration appeals starting August 2026.
- The policy aims to save six point nine billion pounds by reducing wait times from sixty-seven weeks.
- Government plans include closing all asylum hotels by the end of the current Parliament to cut costs.
The Home Office said on August 14, 2026, that a 24-week target for asylum and immigration appeals took effect on August 12, 2026. Officials said the move is meant to save £6.9 billion. The department wants to cut the average wait for a judge's decision from 67 weeks to 24. It covers new appeals from non-detained foreign national offenders and people receiving asylum support.
The policy is built around shorter stays in state-funded accommodation and less time with cases left open. That trims the bill on the front end. It also aims to move unsuccessful appellants through the system faster, so files do not linger while public support continues. The government links the change to removals of people with no right to stay in the UK.
Anna Turley, the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, announced the change.
"For too long, asylum and immigration appeals have been plagued by delays, leaving taxpayers 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."
Her message was direct.
The target sits inside the Immigration and Asylum Bill (2026-27), which passed its second reading in early August 2026. More than 150,000 appeals are waiting for a First-tier Tribunal hearing. Sitting days for the tribunal will rise 19% in 2026-2027. The bill responds to a system already carrying heavy backlogs and high accommodation costs. The waiting list is large.
The hotel figures that support the cost case came on the same day. The department said 13 asylum hotels had been exited, and the closures were expected to save £51 million. Total expected savings from this year's hotel closures now stand at £224 million. The rest fits in one place.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Asylum hotels exited | 13 |
| Expected savings from those closures | £51 million |
| Total expected savings from this year's hotel closures | £224 million |
| Hotels still in use | under 170 |
| Peak number in 2023 | 400 |
| Hotels shut since April | 44 |
The department has also pledged to close all remaining asylum hotels by the end of the current Parliament. That promise still stands.
Critics say speed cannot replace fairness
The Refugee Council pushed back. CEO Enver Solomon and other critics said speed must not replace fairness. The group says 64% of asylum appeals in 2024/25 led to the Home Office's initial decision being overturned or withdrawn. Their complaint starts there.
The wider fiscal gain still depends on removals
The Office for Budget Responsibility said in late 2025 that faster appeals can lower short-term support costs. It added that the broader fiscal impact depends on the government's ability to enforce removals of people whose appeals fail. Savings, in other words, depend on exits. The condition still stands.
A second appeals authority would run beside the tribunal
The bill would also create the Independent Immigration Appeals Authority. It would initially run alongside the First-tier Tribunal and use independent adjudicators to prioritise high-harm cases, including foreign national offenders and what the government calls dubious human rights claims. That new body is meant to help clear the backlog while the tribunal keeps hearing cases. The second track starts beside it.
