Table Of Contents:
- What Is Reapplying for a Refused UK Visa
- What Is Appealing a Refused UK Visa
- Which Is Better – Reapply or Appeal a Refused UK Visa
- Final Thoughts
Whether to reapply or appeal a refused UK visa application? This is a question every individual facing visa refusal has in their mind. Both options have their pros and cons. It is better that you seek an expert’s advice before choosing one. However, you need to note here that not all visa refusals can be appealed. You must have the legal right to appeal in the first place, and even though you have a legal right to appeal, it is not an easy process to follow, as it may take several months.
What Is Reapplying for a Refused UK Visa?
Visa refusals are often a result of not adhering to the application process or UK immigration law. This happens because not everyone can understand the immigration rules and Home Office guidance in detail. Hence, it is advised that you consider taking an expert’s help.
Once you have received the UK visa refusal letter or email from the Home Office, you should read it carefully to understand the reasons for it. Looking at the issues that led to the refusal reapplying may be a good choice. Reapplying means making a fresh application for the same visa, where you can correct the error made in the original application. You can also make a fresh application for different visa.
What Is Appealing a Refused UK Visa?
Appealing a refused UK visa application means you want to challenge the Home Office’s decision to refuse your visa because you believe that its decision to refuse your visa is unfair, irrational, unlawful, or breaches human rights.
Appeal is made to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), which is independent of the government. Not all visa refusals can be appealed. You can appeal only if the Home Office has given you the right to it.
Which Is Better – Reapply or Appeal a Refused UK Visa?
Before you decide whether to reapply or appeal a refused UK visa, you should understand the reasons for it. If the reasons for your visa refusal, stated in the refusal letter, are complex or you have had multiple refusals, seeking professional legal advice will be in your best interest. Sometimes, the language used in the refusal letters or emails can be technical or vague. If you are unable to understand the refusal letter partly or wholly, it’s wise to seek clarification.
Your UK visa may have been refused due to an incorrect application form, incomplete information, missing documents, etc. Reapplying is better if:
1. Caseworker’s Decision is Correct
After going through the refusal letter or email, you and/or your immigration advisor may find that the UKVI’s case worker’s decision to refuse your visa application is correct, and you made a genuine error in your application or failed to submit the required information or documents. In such a scenario, you should reapply as it can be the best course of action for you. In a fresh application, you can address the errors, provide accurate information, and provide new and more robust evidence to strengthen your application.
2. There is a change in your Circumstances
If your circumstances have changed, for example, your financial or employment status, since your visa refusal, and you now have a greater chance of obtaining the visa, you should reapply.
3. You Have Been Banned for a Certain Period
In certain scenarios, for example, you are found to have used deception, you may be banned from entering the UK for a period of up to 10 years. This is also called the ‘cooling-off’ period. The chances of such a decision being overturned through an appeal are usually low. In such cases, it would be better to let the cooling-off period pass and then reapply. It’s important to be honest and transparent in the new application about the previous refusal.
4. If Your UK Visit Visa Has Been Refused
Usually, in case of a visit visa refusal, you do not get the right to appeal. Only if you can prove that visa refusal breaches your rights under the ECHR, for example, the right to family life or private life, you may appeal the decision.
You should not be in a hurry to reapply. There is no time limit within which you must reapply. You may apply at any point after the refusal unless you have been banned from making a fresh application for a long period. You should take your time, assess the reasons for refusal carefully, seek professional help, and then reapply.
On the other hand, if you and/or your immigration advisor find that there was a caseworker’s error and its decision to refuse your visa is unfair, irrational, unlawful, or breaches human rights, you can appeal the decision. You can appeal first to a First-tier Tribunal. Appeal is a better option if:
1. If the Refusal is Unlawful, Irrational, Unfair, or Breaches Human Rights
After reading the refusal letter or email, if you and/or your immigration advisor find that there is no fault on your side, an appeal should be a better option. If you strongly believe that the caseworker has not followed the immigration rules properly or the decision breached your human rights under the ECHR, you should appeal.
Please note that you can appeal a decision only if you have the legal right to it. You will be told in the decision letter whether you have the right to appeal.
2. In certain Immigration Refusals
All visa applications do not carry the right to appeal. You can appeal in certain circumstances only where the UKVI has decided to:
- Refuse your ‘asylum claim’ or ‘humanitarian protection’ claim
- Revoke your protection status
- Refuse your human rights claim
- Revoke your British citizenship
- Refuse or revoke your status, vary the length or condition of your stay, or deport you under the EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme)
- Refuse or revoke your travel permit or family permit under the EUSS, or restrict your rights to enter or leave the UK under those permits
- Refuse or revoke your permit, or deport you if you’re a frontier worker
- Refuse or revoke your leave, or deport you if you are an S2 healthcare visitor
- Refuse you a residence document or deport you under the Immigration EEA (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016
3. You Have New Evidence
Having the right to appeal is not enough. You have to go through multiple stages of an appeal before receiving a decision. However, if you are ready to contest a refusal decision because you have the new documents and evidence to prove that the UKVI’s decision is unlawful, irrational, unfair, and breaches human rights, filing an appeal is a better option.
4. The Refusal is Based on Subjective Judgment
Filing an appeal is better if you are sure of proving the UKVI’s decision to refuse your visa application is based on their interpretations of your intentions or circumstances, and you can counter them with evidence.
5. If You Have No Right to Administrative Review
Administrative review is another way to challenge the UKVI’s visa refusal decision. But you can request an administrative review only if you have the legal right to it. If you don’t have the right to administrative review, filing an appeal is a better option.
6. The Refusal Impacts Your Rights or Future Plans
Appealing a visa refusal decision may be necessary if the refusal seriously impacts your personal or professional life.
But you need to note that an appeal takes several months before a judge of the first-tier tribunal gives its decision. There is also a chance that your appeal will be dismissed by the tribunal. On the other hand, even if the tribunal decides in your favor and asks the UKVI to reconsider its decision, the UKVI may again refuse your application for entirely different reasons.
If the first-tier tribunal dismisses your appeal, you may seek permission to appeal at an upper tribunal (an independent court one level above the first-tier tribunal), and if the upper tribunal also rejects your appeal, you may apply for a judicial review.
An appeal process is a long process, requires patience, lots of documentation, multiple hearings of your case, and so on. Hence, you should take professional advice before you choose to appeal.
Final Thoughts
It has been observed that usually reapplying is a better choice when there is a question whether to reapply or appeal a refused UK visa. Reapplying allows you to address the issues due to which your application has been refused. For example, submitting the correct documents and information, filling up the correct application form, proving new evidence if there is a change in your circumstances, etc. On the other hand, an appeal is better if you are quite sure that the visa refusal decision is unlawful and breaches human rights.
However, before making a choice between the two, you must consider taking legal advice from an immigration expert, as there are also other options such as administrative review, reconsideration request, and judicial review in case of a visa refusal.
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