Administrative Review After an ILR Refusal

Table Of Contents

1. When is administrative review allowed after ILR refusal
2. When and how to apply for an administrative review after an ILR refusal
3. Pay the Administrative Review Application Fee and get a decision
4. Summary

Applications commonly eligible for Administrative Review include a decision to refuse an application for entry clearance, a decision to refuse an application for permission to enter, a decision to refuse an application for permission to stay,  or a decision to cancel permission to enter or stay made on your arrival in the UK through various UK visas such as Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker visas, Student, Scale-up Worker, Global Talent, Temporary Worker routes (such as Seasonal Worker, Creative Worker, and Religious Worker), and certain settlement and ILR applications.

When is administrative review allowed after ILR refusal?

AR (Administrative Review) is not available for every ILR refusal. You may be allowed an AR after an ILR refusal only if the refusal is an “eligible decision” under the Immigration Rules and your refusal notice states that you have the right to Administrative Review. 

Importantly, only limited ILR refusal decisions carry the right to administrative review, particularly where the refusal involves incorrect calculation of absence during the qualifying period, continuous residence errors, misinterpretation of lawful residence periods, or incorrect application of suitability requirements. Other ILR refusals may instead provide an appeal right.

These are the common situations where you can request an Administrative Review:

1. The caseworker made an error in applying the Immigration Rules

You may seek an AR (Administrative Review) if you believe the caseworker made an error when applying or interpreting the legal requirements for your ILR application. As a result, your settlement application was refused even though you met the relevant Immigration Rules. 

For example, the caseworker applied the wrong salary threshold relevant to your immigration route.

2. The evidence you submitted was overlooked

Administrative Review may be appropriate if you included all the required documents with your ILR application but the Home Office failed to consider them.

For example, you gave a letter from your employer or a valid English language certificate, but they were ignored during the assessment.

3. Incorrect calculation of absence during the qualifying period

Every ILR route requires you to complete a specified period of continuous lawful residence. For example, if you are seeking settlement in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, you must have completed 5 years of continuous residence in the UK. Similarly, an Innovator Founder visa requires you to complete 3 years of residence before you can apply for ILR.

Administrative Review may be an appropriate choice if the caseworker 

• miscalculated your qualifying residence period; for example, you completed five years of continuous residence before submitting your ILR application, but the caseworker mistakenly calculated your residence as four years and eleven months.

• counted your residence in the UK from the wrong date; for example, you arrived in the UK on 1 July 2022, but your qualifying residence period for ILR should not be counted from the date you entered the UK but from the date your permission for the visa you applied for was granted. If the caseworker instead starts counting from a later date without justification, it may incorrectly shorten your qualifying residence; or 

• incorrectly concluded that you had not completed the required qualifying residence period, for example, you made an in-time application for ILR before your previous permission expired, meaning your lawful residence continued while your application was pending. The Home Office may wrongly refuse your ILR application if its caseworker ignores this and decides that your qualifying residence was interrupted.

4. Continuous residence errors

You may request an Administrative Review if you believe the Home Office incorrectly decided that your continuous residence was broken.

For example, the caseworker may have:

• overlooked that you made an in-time ILR application; 

• failed to recognise that your permission to stay in the UK was automatically extended while the decision on your ILR application was pending; or 

• misunderstood how the continuous residence rules applied to your immigration history.

5. Incorrect application of the suitability requirements

Administrative Review may be available to you where the Home Office:

• Depended on incorrect information about your immigration/criminal history; 

• mistakenly concluded that you used fraud or deception; or 

• misapplied the suitability provisions in the Immigration Rules – Part Suitability.

6. English language or Life in the UK requirement error

If you met the KOLL (Knowledge of Language and Life) in the UK requirement (where applicable) but the Home Office concluded otherwise because of an administrative or assessment error, you may request an Administrative Review.

7. Salary or financial requirements assessment error

If your ILR application is based on employment, Administrative Review may be appropriate if the Home Office:

• calculated the salary you were being paid at the time of application incorrectly; or

• applied your job’s wrong going rate; or 

• misunderstood your employer’s evidence.

When and how to apply for an administrative review after an ILR refusal?

You must apply for an administrative review within 14 days of getting your ILR refusal decision.

You must apply within 7 days if you were detained on the day you received your decision, 

You can apply online for an AR. 

Pay the Administrative Review Application Fee and get a decision

The AR currently costs £80.

Currently, it can take up to 12 months or more to receive the result of the AR. The Home Office will contact you with an update if you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months. Your rights remain unaffected by the delay in processing applications.

You cannot request a second administrative review (unless, during the first review, new reasons were found that demonstrate the original refusal was correct). Your Home Office decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.

If your visa has expired before you get a decision on your AR, you will not usually be removed from the UK.

Summary

Your ILR refusal decision letter will tell you if you have the right to request an Administrative Review. You should usually apply for an AR if you believe that the caseworker has misinterpreted the law, wrongfully misapplied the immigration law, ignored or overlooked the evidence you submitted, etc.

However, Administrative Review is a complex process, and therefore you should seek expert advice before choosing this option.

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