Appeals

If an asylum seeker receives a negative decision (neither B- nor F-decision), s/he can make an appeal to the Federal Administrative Court. An appeal can only be made once, and usually the deadline for an appeal is 30 days, in the new procedure 7 working days. Sometimes the deadline is 5 days only, so please check this immediately and carefully.

If we are contacted by a client to write an appeal, these are the first steps to take:

1. Get his/her power of attorney and a confirmation that the client gets social aid

2. Make sure the client has all documents from SEM (otherwise send a request to inspect files to SEM)

3. Check the deadline (to be found on the letter of SEM regarding the negative decision)

It is essential that the appeal is made in the required form (written and substantiated) and that the deadline is not missed.

To write an appeal, you can use and modify/adapt the template on the Google-Drive to your case.

Form 

The appeal has to be written in D, F or I and it must be clearly stated what the intent of the appeal is. Therefore, in the appeal, the goal must be clearly formulated: asylum or tempo- rary protection. The client must state why s/he does not agree with the decision of SEM. If possible, s/he must submit evidence. Send all the evidence that is useful in his/her case and that has not yet been given to the Swiss authorities (for example medical certificates, impris- onment orders, judgments, etc.). Then, list all counter-arguments and try to explain any con- tradictions or misunderstandings. State what would happen to your client if s/he had to return to his/her homeland now. Explain exactly who persecutes him/her when, why and how.

The appeal raises two grounds for complaint concerning the matters governed by the Asylum Act:

• violation of federal law, including abuse and exceeding of discretion;

• incorrect and incomplete determination of the relevant facts.

Please make sure to send the appeal in two copies, both signed by yourself and including all attachments, by registered mail to the federal administrative court. Save the word document as well as a scan of the final, signed version on Eqipe and send the latter to the client for his or her information.

You can find more information in the asylum handbook of SEM (only available in German and French):

What happens next?

The Federal Administrative Court will send you a letter with one of the following information/re- quests:

• You receive a confirmation receipt: until the decision is made, the client can legally stay in Switzerland (due to the suspensive effect of the appeal);

• The Court sets a short deadline for you to correct errors in the appeal: you must re- spond, otherwise your complaint will not be verified;

• The Court gives you the opportunity to express your opinion on a new statement by SEM: try to respond;

• The Court decides whether the appeal is "initially hopeless". In such a case, it requires an advanced payment and sets a deadline for the payment. If you do not pay, your appeal will not be verified. If the client pays, the appeal is checked, but the chances of success are very small.

With regard to a submitted appeal, the Federal Administrative Court may either decide on the merits (reformatorisch) or reject the appeal to the SEM for reassessment (kassatorisch). The judgments of the Federal Administrative Court regarding asylum, refugee status and expulsion are final, i.e. they cannot be referred to the Federal Court.

If the court asks for a court fee only after it issued a negative decision, you can write a letter to the court asking for a waiver if the client is dependent on emergency aid. Templates are available on Drive with mandate and without a mandate.