Administrative Review and Appeals
What is Administrative Review?
The Administrative Review process offers you the opportunity to challenge the UK Visa and Immigration (UKVI, or Home Office) decision on your visa application. When the immigration decision contains errors, applicants can request the UKVI to re-examines the original decision and investigate if any mistakes were made. The review is conducted by a different team of immigration officers, distinct from the team that made the original decision to ensure impartiality.
MGBe Legal helps you understand whether you can request an Administrative Review or whether you have a right of appeal, and guide you through the entire process. Our expert team of immigration lawyers reviews your case and fully advise you on your options and prospects of success.
Who can apply for Administrative Review?
Visa refusals with case-working errors
Incorrect leave period or conditions
Cancellation of leave at the UK border
Eligible visa categories
You may be eligible for an administrative review, if your visa comes under the following visa categories:
- Skilled worker visa
- Global talent visa
- Graduate visa
- Innovator visa
- Start-up visa
- Student visa
- UK ancestry visa
- Government authorised exchange visa
- Sportsperson visa
- Global business mobility visas
Decision letter confirmation
Conditions when you can apply for the Administrative Review
An administrative review can only be requested for if there was a ‘case working error’ by the Home Office in deciding your case, and such error that might have impacted on the decision or could affect future application, for example when the decision-maker assessed that you used deception in a previous application.
Here are some examples of case-working errors:
- When the Home Office made an error in calculating the correct period or conditions of leave granted.
- When the Home Office failed to apply the correct immigration rules or applied the wrong immigration laws when making a visa decision.
- When the Home Office did not request specific documents necessary for deciding your case.
- When the Home Office failed to identify or consider important aspects of your visa application.
- When the Home Office overlooked or misinterpreted evidence and this impacted on the visa decision.
Let us apply for your UK visa administrative review
How to apply for Administrative Review?
The process to apply for administrative review varies depending on whether you are inside or outside the UK.
When applying for an administrative review, you must refer to the reasons for refusal given in your visa decision letter by the UKVI and specify why you believe there was a mistake.
Generally, you cannot submit new evidence at this stage, unless you are asking the UKVI to review an EUSS application (for European nationals). You must send your completed application online and any supporting documents (if allowed) by email at a dedicated address.
Our team of immigration lawyers assists you by reviewing the refusal reasons and preparing grounds of review to support your case.
Get help of our legal expertise for your Administrative Review Application
Fees for Administrative Review
The administrative review application fee has to be paid at the time of submission. There is no additional fee for dependents included in the visa application. If your review is successful, you should get a refund of the UKVI fee.
It is no longer possible to request an Administrative Review of an EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) decision. Pending review take around 2 months to be decided. It is possible to request the UKVI to expedite the decision in the presence of urgent reasons.
Processing timeline for Administrative Review
Your administrative review application submitted to the Home Office will be processed it as quickly as possible. However, the exact timeline can vary depending on the complexity of the case. It is important to monitor any updates from the Home Office during the review period.
The Home Office generally proceeds with the administrative review decision in 12 months or more. If you do not get the decision within 6 months, the UKVI will contact you with the update.
Difference between Administrative Review and Right to Appeal
If you have a right of appeal, you can challenge a visa refusal decision made by the Home Office in front of an independent judge in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
Once you lodge your appeal, you can request an oral hearing or an appeal on the papers. If you choose to have an oral appeal, you will be required to attend the tribunal and give evidence in person or by video link, this is generally preferable as you will have an opportunity to explain your situation to a judge. In appeals on the papers, the case is reviewed based on written evidence and submissions. The tribunal fee is £140 for an oral hearing and £80 for a paper appeal.
The time limit for filing an appeal varies as per your location at the time you receive the visa decision.
If you are in the UK, you have 14 calendar days from the date the refusal notice was sent to file your appeal. However, if you are detained, this time limit is reduced to just 7 days.
If you are outside the UK, the time limit is longer. You have 28 calendar days from the date of the refusal noticethe decision was sent to submit your appeal.
- Review the Refusal Notice and Understand Your Options
- Submit your appeal online, using the dedicated MyHMCtS portal, which is the tribunal portal where most appeals must be lodged
- Select whether you want an oral or paper appeal
- File Your Appeal Within the Time Limit
- The UKVI will upload their documents
- Upload your bundle of evidence and reasons why you believe the decision is wrong
- The UKVI will review the case and at this point they could change their mind
- If the UKVI maintains the decision, the tribunal will list a hearing (if applicable)
- You will receive a decision by post or email sometime after the hearing date
Who has a right to appeal?
Learn about your eligibility for a right to appeal from our immigration lawyers
Why choose MGBe Legal for Administrative Review and Appeals in the UK?
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