📋Glossary

This section provides a glossary of terms and definitions for the asylum & refugee sector.

Term	Definition
OISC	Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
SRA	Solicitor Regulation Authority
BRP	Biometric Residence Permit
ARC	Asylum Registration Card
Case law (See Precedent)	Principles of law arising from court decisions.
Concessionary policies	Policies that the Home Office has developed in immigration and asylum cases that are not law, but which the Home Office should follow.
Discretionary policies	Policies that the Home Office has developed in immigration and asylum cases that are not law, but which the Home Office should follow.
Discretionary Leave	Leave granted outside the immigration rules at the discretion of the Home Office to those considered not to be in need of international protection or who have been excluded from such protection.
EEA	European Economic Area-consists of the Member States of the European Union (EU) and three countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; excluding Switzerland).
EU	European Union-is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe.
Exceptional Leave (See Discretionary Leave and Humanitarian Protection)	(See Discretionary Leave and Humanitarian Protection) Exceptional Leave to Enter or Remain granted outside the immigration rules at the discretion of UKVI. Such leave has been replaced by the terms Discretionary Leave and Humanitarian Protection.
First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)	The First-tier (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) or FTT (IAC) is an independent Tribunal dealing with appeals against decisions made by the Home Secretary and immigration officials in immigration, asylum and nationality matters
General information	Information about immigration and asylum procedures that does not refer to an individual’s circumstances, for example, leaflets that explain various immigration procedures.
Humanitarian Protection	Leave granted to anyone who is unable to demonstrate a claim for asylum, but who would if returned to their country of origin face a serious risk to life or person arising from the death penalty, unlawful killing, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Immigration Judge	The title given to a member of the First-tier and Upper Tribunals of the Immigration and Asylum Chambers.
Judicial Review	The procedure by which the Upper Tribunal or Administrative Court determines the legality of decisions made by public bodies. Judicial Review is confined to the review of questions of law, and does not extend to a review of the merits of the administrative decision or the facts of the case.
McKenzie Friend	A term used to describe someone who assists an unrepresented party in court (taking notes, acting as a witness to proceedings, organising papers and/or quietly giving advice). They have no right of audience, and can address the court only if invited by the presiding judge. The OISC does not permit such activity by OISC regulated advisers.
Points Based System (PBS)	The points-based immigration system is the means by which the UK Government regulates immigration into the United Kingdom from outside the EEA. It is composed of five ‘tiers’, which replaced all previous work permits.
Precedent	A judgment or decision that should be followed in cases where there are similar facts (see case law above).
Referral	Where an adviser concludes that a client needs advice from another advice provider such as where the advice needed is beyond the first adviser’s level of competence, and consequently contacts an alternative adviser to arrange the client’s transfer to them.
Taking Instructions	Requires the advisor to listen to the client’s story and to ensure you ask in accordance with client’s wishes. The process involves the client outlining his story and the adviser guiding the client through that story in a way which will allow the legal issues to emerge out of what the client is saying.
Secretary of State Bail	Powers granted under Section 10 of the Immigration Act 2016 means a person liable to detention may be granted immigration bail by the Secretary of State or, if detained, by the Secretary of State or the First-tier Tribunal.
Section 120 Notice (see Statement of Additional Grounds)	The Notice requires applicants to state in full any human rights grounds they wish to rely on in order to remain in the UK.
Signposting	Where an adviser provides information to a client about alternative sources of advice such as where the advice needed is beyond the first adviser’s level of competence.
Skeleton argument	A written argument submitted to a court outlining the case for the appellant/applicant.
Statement of Additional Grounds	The response to a section 120 Notice (see above).
Tribunal Service Immigration and Asylum (see First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)	On 15 February 2010, the Immigration and Asylum Chambers were established in both tiers, First-tier and Upper Tribunals, of the Unified Tribunals framework created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI	UKVI is part of the Home Office. It manages UK border controls and enforces immigration and customs regulations. It also considers applications for permission to enter or stay in the UK and for citizenship and asylum.
Upper Tribunal (see First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber))	The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) or UTIAC is a superior court of record dealing with appeals against decisions made by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) Chamber. Since 1 November 2013 the UT was given jurisdiction to deal with most immigration and asylum judicial review applications.