Receiving a UK visa refusal does not always mean that the only options are to reapply or appeal. For certain routes, the decision can be challenged through administrative review – but only where the decision is eligible and only to challenge a caseworking error, not to submit a new case.

Administrative review is a specific process. It is not available for every immigration refusal, and it is not an opportunity to submit an entirely new case. The purpose is to determine whether an eligible Home Office decision was wrong because the original decision maker incorrectly applied the Immigration Rules or published Home Office guidance.

If you have received a refusal, our Visa Refusal Support page can help you organise your questions, understand the decision and identify when professional immigration support may be needed.

What Is an Administrative Review?

An administrative review is a formal review of an eligible immigration decision.

Under Appendix Administrative Review, the purpose of the review is to decide whether the original decision was incorrect because of a caseworking error.

A different Home Office caseworker reviews the decision. Home Office guidance states that administrative reviews are carried out by a separate team from the team responsible for the original decision.

The reviewer considers whether the original caseworker:

  • Failed to apply the relevant Immigration Rules
  • Applied the Immigration Rules incorrectly
  • Failed to apply relevant published Home Office guidance
  • Applied that guidance incorrectly

This makes administrative review different from simply asking the Home Office to reconsider the case because you disagree with the outcome.

Is Administrative Review Available After Every Visa Refusal?

No.

Administrative review is only available where the Immigration Rules identify the decision as eligible.

Eligible routes include, among others:

  • Student
  • Child Student
  • Graduate
  • Skilled Worker
  • Global Business Mobility
  • Global Talent
  • High Potential Individual
  • Scale-up
  • International Sportsperson
  • UK Ancestry
  • Hong Kong British National (Overseas)
  • Specified Temporary Work routes
  • Several other routes listed in Appendix Administrative Review

Note that EU Settlement Scheme administrative review rights were removed on 4 April 2024. EUSS applicants now have appeal rights rather than administrative review.

If your decision is eligible, your Home Office decision letter should tell you whether you can apply for an administrative review.

Do not assume that every visa refusal carries an administrative review right.

Is Administrative Review the Same as an Immigration Appeal?

No.

Administrative review and an immigration appeal are different processes.

An administrative review examines whether the Home Office made a caseworking error in an eligible decision.

An appeal involves challenging an appealable immigration decision before the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Not every refusal provides a right of appeal, and not every refusal provides a right of administrative review.

The decision notice should explain which review or appeal rights apply.

Our separate guide, Can You Appeal a UK Visa Refusal?, explains the appeal process in more detail.

Which Decisions Can Be Administratively Reviewed?

Appendix Administrative Review provides for review of specified decisions including:

  • Refusal of an application for entry clearance
  • Refusal of an application for permission to enter
  • Refusal of an application for permission to stay
  • Certain decisions to cancel permission at the UK border

The underlying application must also have been made under a route listed as eligible in Appendix Administrative Review.

There are separate provisions for some specialised categories and historic decisions.

The decision letter should therefore be your starting point, rather than relying on the type of refusal alone.

How Do You Know If You Have a Right to Administrative Review?

Your refusal or cancellation decision should tell you whether administrative review is available.

Check the section dealing with your rights after the decision.

It can identify:

  • Whether administrative review is available
  • How to apply
  • The deadline
  • Relevant information about the decision being challenged

If the letter does not provide a right to administrative review, you should not assume that submitting the administrative review form will create one.

An application that does not relate to an eligible decision can be rejected as invalid.

How Long Do You Have to Apply From Inside the UK?

If you are in the UK and your application for permission to stay was refused, you must normally submit the administrative review application within 14 calendar days of receiving the decision.

If you were detained under the Immigration Acts on the date you received the decision, the deadline is 7 calendar days.

These deadlines are strict, so you should check the date on which the decision is treated as received and submit the review as soon as possible.

The application is treated as made on the date it is submitted online.

How Long Do You Have to Apply From Outside the UK?

If your application for entry clearance was made and refused while you were outside the UK, you must apply for administrative review within 28 calendar days of receiving the refusal decision.

For an entry-clearance refusal, the administrative review application must be made from outside the UK.

A person who made an application for permission to stay while inside the UK cannot move overseas and then apply for administrative review of that in-country decision from outside the UK.

Can a Late Administrative Review Be Accepted?

Appendix Administrative Review allows a late application to be accepted where the decision maker is satisfied that:

  • It would be unjust not to waive the normal time limit
  • The application was made as soon as reasonably practicable

This is an exception to the normal deadline, not an alternative deadline that applicants can rely on.

Applicants should therefore work on the basis of the normal 7, 14 or 28-day deadline that applies to their case.

How Much Does an Administrative Review Cost?

The fee is £80.

The fee must be paid for the administrative review application to meet the relevant validity requirements unless an applicable exemption applies.

Immigration fees can change, so applicants should confirm the current amount on GOV.UK before submitting the application.

Is the Administrative Review Fee Refunded?

The £80 fee is refunded in certain circumstances. These include where the administrative review application is rejected as invalid or where the outcome of the review is a grant of immigration permission.

The fee is not refunded where the original decision is upheld or where the applicant simply withdraws the administrative review.

What Does the Home Office Actually Review?

The reviewer examines the original immigration application and decision.

Appendix Administrative Review requires the reviewer to decide whether the applicant was entitled to the immigration permission sought in the original application.

The reviewer does not generally consider whether the applicant now qualifies under a different immigration route or on a different basis.

For example, if a Skilled Worker application was refused, the review concerns whether that Skilled Worker refusal contained a reviewable caseworking error. It is not an application to consider whether the person might now qualify as a Student or partner.

What Counts as a Caseworking Error?

An administrative review can succeed where the original decision maker:

  • Failed to apply a relevant Immigration Rule
  • Applied a relevant Immigration Rule incorrectly
  • Failed to apply relevant published Home Office guidance
  • Applied published guidance incorrectly

An applicant should therefore identify the specific part of the refusal that they believe is wrong and explain why by reference to the original application, Immigration Rules or relevant guidance.

Simply stating that the refusal is unfair or that the applicant disagrees with it does not identify a caseworking error.

Can You Submit New Evidence With an Administrative Review?

Generally, administrative review is not a fresh application and the reviewer considers whether the original decision was wrong on the basis of the original application.

Appendix Administrative Review only allows evidence that was not before the original decision maker to be considered in specified circumstances. These include certain decisions involving:

  • Allegations of false representations or deception
  • Previous breaches of immigration law
  • Failure to request specified documents under historic evidential provisions
  • Failure to follow the Home Office’s evidential flexibility policy

Applicants should therefore not assume that they can cure an ordinary evidential problem by obtaining missing documents after refusal and submitting them through administrative review.

Whether new evidence can be considered depends on the circumstances of the case and the applicable administrative review rules.

Can Administrative Review Correct a Missing-Document Refusal?

It depends on why the document was missing and how the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance applied.

If the original application simply failed to include evidence required by the route, administrative review is not automatically an opportunity to supply that evidence afterwards.

However, a review can be relevant where the applicant argues that the Home Office made a caseworking error – for example, by overlooking evidence that was already submitted or, where applicable, by failing to follow the Home Office’s evidential flexibility policy.

Appendix Administrative Review permits new evidence to be considered in certain cases where the Home Office failed to follow the evidential flexibility policy.

The distinction is important:

  • Applicant failed to provide required evidence
  • Home Office failed to consider or correctly deal with evidence

These are not necessarily the same type of problem.

Can You Use Administrative Review If the Home Office Overlooked a Document?

Potentially.

If a document was included with the original application but the refusal appears to have ignored it, that can raise a question about whether the original caseworker made an error.

The administrative review should clearly identify:

  • The refusal reason
  • The evidence that was originally submitted
  • Where that evidence appeared in the application
  • Why it means the stated refusal reason is incorrect

The review remains focused on whether the original decision contained a caseworking error; it is not a process for creating a new case after refusal.

Can You Use Administrative Review to Challenge an Incorrect Salary Calculation?

Potentially, where the refusal is eligible for administrative review and the issue results from a caseworking error.

For example, a Skilled Worker applicant might argue that the Home Office:

  • Used the wrong occupation going rate
  • Applied the wrong salary option
  • Failed to recognise a qualifying transitional provision
  • Miscalculated the salary based on information already contained in the original application

The question is whether the original decision contained a caseworking error, such as an incorrect application of the Immigration Rules or relevant guidance.

It is not enough that the applicant has now received a better-paid job offer or new Certificate of Sponsorship.

Those new circumstances would ordinarily be more relevant to a fresh application than to an administrative review of the original decision.

What Happens If the Home Office Accused You of Deception?

Administrative review can be particularly important where a refusal contains an allegation of false representations or deception.

Appendix Administrative Review permits certain evidence that was not before the original decision maker to be considered in specified cases involving false representations or deception. Whether new evidence can be considered will depend on the particular decision and the applicable rules.

An allegation of deception can also have consequences beyond the immediate refusal, including effects on future immigration applications.

Applicants facing this type of finding should read the refusal carefully and consider whether professional immigration support may be appropriate.

Our later guide, What Happens If Your UK Visa Is Refused for Deception or False Documents?, will examine this issue in more detail.

Can You Make a New Visa Application While Administrative Review Is Pending?

You can make a new immigration application, but doing so has a fixed consequence for the administrative review.

If you make a new application for:

  • Entry clearance
  • Permission to enter
  • Permission to stay

While your administrative review is pending, the administrative review is treated as withdrawn.

GOV.UK also states clearly that an administrative review request is withdrawn if another immigration or visa application is made.

A new application therefore does not merely affect the review – the pending administrative review is treated as withdrawn.

Can You Submit a New Application First and Then Ask for Administrative Review?

No.

Appendix Administrative Review states that where a person receives an eligible decision and then makes a subsequent application for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay, an administrative review of the previous decision will not be valid.

Applicants should therefore consider carefully whether to submit a fresh application before seeking administrative review of the earlier decision.

Applicants need to consider the order of their next steps carefully.

Should You Choose Administrative Review or Make a Fresh Application?

There is no single answer for every refusal.

Administrative review can be more relevant where the applicant believes the original application already met the Immigration Rules and the refusal resulted from a Home Office error.

A fresh application can be more relevant where the problem lies with the original application itself and can now be corrected.

For example:

  • If the Home Office overlooked evidence that was submitted, administrative review can be relevant
  • If the applicant never supplied required evidence and the rules do not permit new evidence on review, a new application can be more appropriate
  • If circumstances have materially changed since the refusal, a fresh application can be needed because administrative review considers the original application rather than new circumstances

However, a fresh application will cause any pending administrative review to be treated as withdrawn.

Where the refusal has wider consequences or the correct route is unclear, professional immigration support may be appropriate.

Can You Leave the UK While an Administrative Review Is Pending?

If you have an in-country administrative review pending, leaving the UK causes the administrative review to be treated as withdrawn.

The same applies if you ask for your passport back because you intend to travel outside the UK.

This is another fixed rule applicants should consider before making travel plans.

Can You Be Removed From the UK While an In-Country Review Is Pending?

Appendix Administrative Review states that where an administrative review is pending in relation to a decision made while the person was in the UK, the applicant will not be removed from the UK while that review remains pending.

This does not itself mean that every applicant has the same underlying immigration status.

Whether the applicant continues to have immigration permission depends on their circumstances and the basis on which the refusal was made.

Does Your Existing Immigration Permission Continue During Administrative Review?

In some circumstances, yes.

Home Office caseworker guidance states that where an applicant’s permission had already been extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, and the administrative review application is made within the relevant deadline, that immigration permission – with all its original conditions – continues until:

  • Notice of the administrative review decision is served
  • The administrative review application is withdrawn

This can be important for applicants whose previous permission expired while an in-time application and subsequent administrative review were pending.

The precise effect of section 3C depends on the applicant’s immigration history and the timing and nature of their application.

Can You Continue Working During an Administrative Review?

Whether you can continue working depends on your existing immigration status and the conditions that continue to apply.

Where section 3C continues an applicant’s previous immigration permission during a valid administrative review, the conditions attached to that permission may also continue.

Applicants should not assume that submitting any administrative review automatically creates a general right to work.

If continued employment is important and your visa has technically expired, checking your precise immigration status can be particularly important.

How Long Does Administrative Review Take?

GOV.UK currently states that an administrative review can take 12 months or more to receive a decision. If no decision has been made within six months, the Home Office states that it will contact the applicant with an update. Processing times are not guaranteed.

GOV.UK also states that the applicant’s rights are not affected simply because processing takes longer.

This is a current indication of processing times, not a guaranteed timeframe for a decision.

What Are the Possible Outcomes of Administrative Review?

Appendix Administrative Review provides four possible outcomes.

1. The Review Succeeds

The original decision is withdrawn and the application will be reconsidered.

2. The Review Does Not Succeed

The original decision remains in force for all of the reasons originally given.

3. Some Refusal Reasons Are Withdrawn

The review is unsuccessful overall, but one or more reasons in the original refusal are removed.

4. The Decision Is Maintained With Different or Additional Reasons

The review does not succeed and the original decision remains in force, but the Home Office gives different or additional reasons for maintaining it.

This means an unsuccessful administrative review does not always leave the wording of the original refusal completely unchanged.

Does a Successful Administrative Review Mean Your Visa Is Automatically Granted?

Not necessarily.

Under Appendix Administrative Review, where the review succeeds, the original eligible decision is withdrawn and reconsidered.

A successful review therefore results in the original decision being withdrawn and the application being reconsidered.

The final outcome then depends on the application when correctly assessed.

A successful administrative review does not necessarily mean that immigration permission is granted immediately.

Can You Request a Second Administrative Review?

Generally, you cannot request repeated administrative reviews of the same decision.

However, a further administrative review can be available where the previous review maintained the refusal for different or additional reasons.

Appendix Administrative Review expressly permits another review in those circumstances.

GOV.UK states that the administrative review decision will tell the applicant whether another review is available.

What Happens If Administrative Review Is Unsuccessful?

If the review does not succeed, the refusal remains in force.

The next step depends on the applicant’s immigration position and the nature of the decision.

Possible next steps can include:

  • Whether a fresh application is possible
  • Whether an appeal right exists in relation to another decision
  • Whether judicial review could be relevant to an unlawful decision
  • Whether the applicant has valid immigration permission remaining
  • Whether the applicant must leave the UK

An applicant whose administrative review is unsuccessful should check whether they are required to leave the UK and the date by which they must do so.

Judicial review is a separate legal process concerned with the lawfulness of a public body’s decision and should not be confused with administrative review.

How Should You Read a Refusal Before Requesting Administrative Review?

Before submitting the review, break the refusal down into individual reasons.

For each refusal reason, consider:

1. What Immigration Rule Did the Home Office Rely Upon?

2. What Factual Finding Did the Caseworker Make?

3. What Evidence Did You Originally Provide?

4. Did the Caseworker Overlook or Misunderstand That Evidence?

5. Was the Correct Rule Applied?

6. Was Relevant Home Office Guidance Followed?

7. Are You Trying to Correct a Home Office Error, or Are You Trying to Improve an Incomplete Application?

That last distinction can be particularly important.

Administrative review is designed to address reviewable Home Office errors in the original decision. It is not an opportunity to rebuild the application after seeing why it was refused.

What Should You Include in an Administrative Review?

The application should focus on the alleged caseworking errors.

This should include clearly identifying:

  • The particular refusal reason being challenged
  • The Immigration Rule or guidance relevant to that decision
  • The evidence that was before the original decision maker
  • What the caseworker got wrong
  • How correcting that error affects the original application

Avoid relying only on general statements such as:

  • “I disagree with the decision”
  • “The refusal is unfair”
  • “I really need the visa”

Administrative review is concerned with whether the original decision was incorrect because of a caseworking error.

Common Administrative Review Mistakes

Problems can arise where applicants:

  • Assume every visa refusal can be administratively reviewed
  • Miss the 7, 14 or 28-day application deadline
  • Use administrative review simply to submit documents that were missing from the original application
  • Fail to identify a specific caseworking error
  • Make a fresh immigration application without realising this withdraws the review
  • Leave the UK while an in-country administrative review is pending
  • Request their passport for travel, causing the review to be withdrawn
  • Assume administrative review is the same as an appeal
  • Expect the reviewer to consider whether they qualify under a different immigration route
  • Assume a successful review always means an immediate visa grant
  • Overlook the wider consequences of a refusal involving deception or immigration breaches

Reading the refusal decision and the applicable administrative review rules before taking action can help applicants identify which issues need to be addressed.

Visit our Visa Refusal Support page to organise your questions and understand your next step.