Presenting Officer

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) determine who can visit, study, work and stay in the UK, protecting national security and supporting lawful migration. We support the economy and society by licencing organisations and deciding visa applications. We operate the United Kingdom's asylum system, providing protection to vulnerable people while working with partners to help refugees access essential services.

This is an opportunity to operate in a key priority area within the Home Office, contributing to work building and maintaining a safe, fair and prosperous UK.

AFTT (Appeals, First Tier Tribunals), part of Asylum and Human Rights Operations (AHRO) plays a vital role in ensuring fairness and integrity in the UK’s immigration system. We manage and review cases where appeals or legal challenges arise, defend decisions where appropriate, and provide remedies for applications that do not meet Immigration Rules.

Operating across 8 Presenting Officer’s Units throughout the UK, our team represents the Secretary of State in Immigration Tribunal hearings, and in the review of initial decisions, ensuring these are robust, lawful, and fair.

The Presenting Officer role offers a unique opportunity to develop advocacy and decision-making skills in a fast-paced legal environment and the opportunity to develop expertise in immigration law and advocacy.

We are advertising for 10 posts and are looking to build a large reserve list to accommodate for future roles.

Job description

Presenting Officers represent the Secretary of State at the First-tier Immigration Tribunal, preparing and presenting a challenging caseload independently to ensure sustainable decisions are robustly defended. This is an extremely demanding position, requiring the ability to remain positive and focused in a challenging, dynamic and fast-changing environment.

The ability to operate effectively when faced with frequent and often robust challenge from legal representatives and Immigration Judges is crucial, as is a high degree of personal resilience to quickly move forward when challenged. Extended periods of concentration and focus are required when preparing and presenting complex cases and undertaking target-driven review work.

To understand the considerable challenges of the role, it is recommended that successful candidates observe a hearing at the Immigration Tribunal.

Key Responsibilities

• Present cases before the Immigration Tribunal on approximately 60% of working days, ensuring professionalism and appropriate conduct in a public setting.
• Prepare and present cases effectively, including reviewing decisions and legal representations to assess their sustainability and identify key evidence for strong arguments.
• Develop and maintain a sound understanding of immigration law, policy, and processes.
• Work flexibly to accommodate court listing changes and operational needs, including preparing and presenting cases at short notice.
• Deliver structured submissions and cross-examination in an adversarial environment to uphold decisions appropriately.
• Complete post-hearing work accurately and within required timeframes.
• Undertake immigration review work in line with relevant rules, guidance, and standards when court attendance is not possible or as required by business needs.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with key stakeholders, including Immigration Judges, HM Courts and Tribunal Service staff, legal representatives, and colleagues across the Home Office.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis.This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 4 days / 30 hours per week due to business requirements.

Post holders will be required to present at the Immigration Tribunal up to 60% of their contracted working days.

Staff must also attend the office for training, mentoring, and typically once every fortnight for team engagement.

Training

Successful candidates will complete a comprehensive foundation and mentoring programme with progress formally assessed to ensure competence. Attendance in person on training is mandatory, with limited flexibility on timings.

Travel

In some locations, hearing centres are located away from the home unit, and occasional travel to other centres may be required.

Information Session

To learn more about this role and how to apply, register for one of our free, optional live events. Click the date and time that suits you below.

• Wednesday 30th September 2026 1.30pm-2.30pm - Link
• Wednesday 7th October 2026 10am-11am - Link

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Ability to develop a strong working knowledge of immigration law.
• Ability to analyse complex information and identify key issues with a high degree of accuracy.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to engage with a range of stakeholders.
• Ability to remain resilient and effective when faced with challenge, pressure, or differing perspectives.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, changing environment under time pressure.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.
• See more of our benefits on our careers website.