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UK visa refusal can be a difficult-to-handle situation for you. In the first place, you should ensure that you avoid the common reasons that lead to refusal. For this, you should seek the help of an immigration expert. But if your UK visa application is refused, you should also know what options you have now.
Depending on the reason for refusal, you can have these 4 options:
- Reconsideration Request
- Appeal
- Judicial Review
- Administrative Review
- Re-apply
There can be many reasons for visa refusal. When a visa decision letter is sent to you by the home office, the reason for the visa refusal is also mentioned in it. You are also informed in the visa refusal letter whether you have the right to appeal or administrative review or not. If the Home Office has refused your UK visa application, let us examine your options one by one.
1. Reconsideration Request
First, know that you can request reconsideration only if you have no right to appeal or administrative review. Secondly, you must be in the UK to request reconsideration.
When can you request reconsideration?
The fundamental point to request reconsideration is that if you feel the immigration rules and policies were not followed correctly when assessing your UK visa application or the reason for your visa refusal is that the facts and information you submitted in the form of documents and evidence were misunderstood or misinterpreted by the caseworker.
You should submit your request for reconsideration as soon as possible after receiving the refusal decision. You can only request reconsideration if:
- Your application to transfer your existing visa to an eVisa—known as a ‘transfer of conditions’ (TOC)—was refused.
- Your application to transfer your ILR to an eVisa—known as ‘no time limit’ (NTL)—was refused.
- Your application for your current visa extension, switching your visa, or settling in the UK was refused.
One can request reconsideration if your TOC or leave to remain application is successful, but believes its type or its expiry date is wrong.
You can also make a reconsideration request if the TOC or NTL application made by you was refused and one of the following applies:
- You have new evidence about the date of the application.
- You have new evidence to prove that your documents were authentic.
- You have evidence that information received by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) before the decision date was not available to the team that made the decision.
2. Appeal
In some visa refusal cases, you can appeal the visa refusal decision by the UKVI provided you have the legal right to appeal. You will be told whether you have the right to appeal in the visa decision letter or email sent to you by the UKVI.
Who can appeal?
You can appeal a visa refusal if:
- Your application, such as family visas, spouse visas, etc., was based on a human rights claim.
- Your application was for asylum.
- Your application was for EUSS (EU Settlement Scheme) or related applications, including those made by family members of EEA nationals.
When can you appeal?
- If you applied for a visa from outside the UK, you can appeal the refusal to a first-tier tribunal within 28 days of receiving the refusal decision.
- If you applied for a visa from inside the UK, you can appeal within 14 days of receiving the Home Office’s visa refusal decision.
Appeal at the First-tier Tribunal
You can first appeal to a First Tier Tribunal where arguments from both your side and the other side (UKVI) are heard, and then a decision is reached.
If your appeal is accepted, the UKVI may be asked by the tribunal to reconsider the findings of your application refusal. The UKVI can then either give its findings in your favor or refuse your visa application again for the same reason or an entirely different reason.
Appeal to the upper tribunal
If the first tribunal rejects your appeal, you can appeal to an upper tier tribunal provided you have the permission to do so. You should appeal to an upper tribunal only if you believe the first- tier tribunal made a legal error in making a decision.
3. Judicial Review
In rare cases, one can apply for judicial review to the upper tribunal or the administrative courts. However, you should only apply for judicial review when you believe that your visa refusal decision by public bodies, including the Home Office and first-tier tribunal, is
- Unlawful – The Home Office or first-tier tribunal acted beyond its legal powers.
- Illegal – The immigration law was violated or proper legal procedure was not followed.
- Irrational –The decision was not made based on the evidence provided.
When can you apply for a judicial review?
- If you applied for a UK visa from inside the UK – You can apply for a judicial review within 3 months of receiving the UKVI’s visa refusal decision.
- If you applied for a UK visa from outside the UK – You can apply for a judicial review within 3 months after you receive a visa refusal decision letter from the Home Office.
4. Administrative Review
You can apply for an administrative review if you think there is an error on the part of the caseworker as defined in the Immigration Rules.
Your visa decision letter tells you whether you have the right to administrative review. Please note that the right to administrative review is not given to applicants for UK visitor visas and citizenship applications.
When can you apply for administrative review?
You can only apply for an administrative review under the following conditions:
- You are inside the UK – You applied for the visa from inside the UK, your visa application was refused, or it was granted, but you are not happy with the period or conditions of your permission to stay, and you were inside the UK at the time of applying for administrative review.
- You are outside the UK – You applied for the visa from outside the UK, your visa application was refused, and you are outside the UK at the time of applying for administrative review.
- You are at the UK border – Your visa application was refused at the UK border due to a change in your circumstances, false information provided by you, and failure to include relevant facts. You must apply for an administrative review within 14 days of getting the decision.
5. Re-apply
You can re-apply after exhausting all the remedies or after the visa refusal itself. Reapply for the same visa or a different visa. Applicant must address all the reasons why your initial visa application was refused. In your visa refusal letter, you are mentioned the reasons so you have clarity about not making the same mistake again.
However, you should not if you are found to have deception or concealed information in your visa application or breached UK immigration law in the past, etc. You may not be allowed to reapply for a very long time.
How can we help?
We can help you choose the correct remedy after your visa refusal. Each option takes time and has a cost, and not all options are available to you either.
We help you strengthen your case, whether in appeal to a first-tier tribunal or administrative review addressing the reasons for refusal. We help you in the process of how to apply for a selected remedy as well.
You can reach out to us immediately after you receive a visa refusal letter from the Home Office.
Read Other Blogs:
Understanding UK Visa Refusals: Common Reasons and How to Avoid Them
Common Reasons for UK Visitor Visa Refusals and How to Avoid Them