Administrative Review
Ask for a visa administrative review
If you’re outside the UK
You’ll be told in your decision letter if you can ask for the decision on your visa application to be reviewed. This is known as an ‘administrative review’.
You can only apply for an administrative review if all of the following apply:
- you’re outside the UK
- you applied outside the UK
- your application was refused
If you want an administrative review, you must apply within 28 days of getting the decision.
Get a decision
Currently, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review. If you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months, the Home Office will contact you with an update. Your rights are not affected by the delay in processing applications.
You cannot request a second review (unless the result of the first review found new reasons why you were refused). Your decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.
Withdraw your request
Your request for an administrative review will be withdrawn (cancelled) if you make any other immigration or visa application.
Your request will be rejected if you ask for a review of a previous decision after submitting a new application.
If you’re in the UK
You’ll be told in your decision letter if you can ask for the decision on your application to be reviewed. This is known as an ‘administrative review’.
You can only apply for an administrative review if all of the following apply:
- you’re in the UK
- you applied in the UK
- your application was refused or it was granted but you’re unhappy with the conditions of your permission to stay
You may be able to appeal against the immigration decision if you’re not eligible for an administrative review.
Apply for an administrative review
If your application was refused and you want an administrative review, you must apply within 14 days of getting the decision.
You must apply within 7 days if you were detained on the day you got your decision.
If your application was granted but you’re unhappy with the conditions of your permission to stay, you must apply within 14 days of getting your biometric residence permit.
Get a decision
Currently, it can take 6 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review. If you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months, the Home Office will contact you with an update. Your rights are not affected by the delay in processing applications.
You cannot request a second review (unless the first review found new reasons why the original refusal was correct). Your decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.
If your visa has expired, you will not usually be removed from the UK until your review has been completed.
Withdraw your request
Your request for an administrative review will be withdrawn (cancelled) if you:
- make any other immigration or visa application
- ask for your passport back so you can travel
- leave the UK
Your request will be rejected if you ask for a review of a previous decision after submitting a new application.
If your visa was cancelled at the border
You’ll be told in your decision letter if you can ask for the decision to cancel your visa to be reviewed. This is known as an ‘administrative review’.
You can ask for the decision to be reviewed if your visa was cancelled for one or more of the following reasons:
- there has been a change in your circumstances
- you gave false information
- you failed to include relevant facts
If you were given temporary admission to the UK
If you want an administrative review, you must apply either:
- within 14 days of your visa being cancelled
- within 7 days if you were detained on the date your visa was cancelled
You need to do this from the UK.
Get a decision
Currently, it usually takes 28 days or more to receive the result of the administrative review.
You cannot request a second review (unless the first review found new reasons why the cancellation was correct). Your decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.
If you’re in the UK, you will not usually be removed until your review has been completed.
Withdraw your request
Your request for an administrative review will be withdrawn (cancelled) if you:
- make any other immigration or visa application
- ask for your passport back so you can travel
- leave the UK
Your request will be rejected if you ask for a review of a previous decision after submitting a new application.
Appeals
You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if the Home Office has decided to:
- refuse your protection claim (also known as ‘asylum claim’ or ‘humanitarian protection’)
- revoke your protection status
- refuse your human rights claim
- refuse you a residence document or deport you under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016
- revoke your British citizenship
- refuse or revoke your status, vary the length or condition of your stay, or deport you under the EU Settlement Scheme
- refuse or revoke your travel permit or family permit under the EU Settlement Scheme 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’re an S2 healthcare visitor
The tribunal is independent of government. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Appeal from within the UK
You can only appeal to the tribunal if you have the legal right to appeal – you’ll usually be told if you do in your decision letter.
Your decision letter will usually tell you if you can apply for an administrative review and if you do not have the right to appeal.
You have 14 days to appeal from the date the decision was sent.
If you apply after the deadline, you must explain why – the tribunal will decide if it can still hear your appeal.
Appeal from outside the UK
You can only appeal to the tribunal if you have the legal right to appeal – you’ll usually be told if you do in your decision letter.
Your decision letter will usually tell you if you can apply for an administrative review and if you do not have the right to appeal.
You have 28 days to appeal after you get your decision. If you have to leave the country before you’re allowed to appeal, you have 28 days to appeal once you’ve left the country.
If you apply after the deadline, you must explain why – the tribunal will decide if it can still hear your appeal.
Appeal to the Upper Tribunal
Appeal a decision by the immigration and asylum tribunal
You can appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if you think there’s a legal mistake with a decision made by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
The tribunal is independent of government and will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
You must be able to make a case for why the decision was legally wrong. For example, if the tribunal:
- did not apply the correct law or wrongly interpreted the law
- did not follow the correct procedures
- had no evidence or not enough evidence to support its decision
Ask for permission to appeal
You must ask the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
Deadlines for asking the First-tier Tribunal for permission to appeal
You must ask for permission to appeal within a certain period of time of getting your decision. When you must appeal by depends on whether you’re inside or outside the UK.
You’re inside the UK: 14 days after the date on the written reasons for the decisions
You’re outside the UK: 28 days after the date on the written reasons for the decisions
If you’re refused permission to appeal
You can apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal if the First-tier Tribunal refuses, or only gives your permission to appeal on limited grounds.
Deadlines for asking the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal
How long you have depends on where you are and how you received your refusal letter from the First-tier Tribunal.
You’re inside the UK: 14 days after the date on the written reasons for the decisions.
You’re outside the UK: 1 month after the date on the decision.
Judicial Review
A Judicial Review is a type of legal challenge where an individual asks the High Court or Upper Tribunal to review the lawfulness of a decision, action or failure to act of a public body or government department. In immigration cases, Judicial Review is often used as a ‘last resort’ to challenge the Home Office’s (or Secretary of State’s) decisions.
Apply to the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC)
You can apply to the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC) for a judicial review to challenge the lawfulness of a decision or other conduct by a public body in your asylum or immigration claim.
A public body can include the Home Office, the First Tier Tribunal or your local council.
Only use the judicial review process if you are challenging something on the grounds that it is unlawful, illegal, irrational or unreasonable (according to the legal criteria). You should seek independent legal advice if you are unsure.
Depending on the circumstances, instead of making a judicial review application to the UTIAC you may need to:
- appeal against the decision
- apply to the Administrative Court
Before applying for a judicial review you can get legal advice from a legal representative to help you with your application and case. You may also be eligible for legal aid to help with your legal costs.
When to appeal against a decision instead of applying for a judicial review
Do not apply for a judicial review if you believe that the decision was wrong – only if you think it was unlawful. For example, because the body didn’t have the legal power to make the decision.
If you believe the public body’s decision was wrong rather than unlawful, appeal against a visa or immigration decision instead of applying for a judicial review.
When to apply to the Administrative Court instead of the UTIAC
Do not apply to the UTIAC if you’re challenging any of the following:
- the validity of the immigration rules or legislation
- the lawfulness of your detention – while in detention you can still apply to the UTIAC to challenge the lawfulness of the decision to remove you
- your sponsor not being included on the register of sponsors maintained by UK Visas and Immigration
- a decision to refuse you British citizenship
- a decision to refuse you asylum seeker support
- a decision made by the UTIAC
- a decision made by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
- a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998
- a decision that has been certified as in the interests of national security
- a decision by a competent authority in respect of being a victim of trafficking – in the UK this would be the Single Competent Authority (SCA) or the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA), both part of the Home Office
Instead, make an application to the Administrative Court.
Reconsideration Requests
Visa and Immigration Reconsideration Requests
You might be able to ask for the decision on your visa or immigration application to be reviewed if you applied in the UK.
This is known as a ‘reconsideration request’. It isn’t a formal appeal or an administrative review. You can’t ask for a reconsideration if you have a right to an appeal or a review.
When you can make a reconsideration request
You can make a reconsideration request if you believe immigration rules or policies weren’t followed correctly when the decision was made.
You must be in the UK to make the request.
You can only make a request if you applied in the UK to:
- transfer your visa to a biometric residence permit – known as a ‘transfer of conditions’ (TOC)
- transfer your indefinite leave to remain to a biometric residence permit – known as ‘no time limit’ (NTL)
- extend your leave, switch your visa or settle in the UK
You can make a request if your application for TOC, NTL or leave to remain was successful but you believe the type or the expiry date of the leave is wrong.
You can also make a request if your TOC or NTL application was refused and you have any of the following:
- new evidence about the date of the application
- new evidence to prove that your documents were authentic
- evidence that information received by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) before the decision date was not available to the team who made the decision
These are the only kinds of new evidence that you can use. You can’t make a request if it relates to any other sort of new evidence that wasn’t received by UKVI before the decision date.
When you can’t make a reconsideration request
You can’t make a reconsideration request if you have a right of appeal or right to an administrative review against the decision.
Your decision letter will usually tell you if you have either of these rights.
When your request will be rejected
Your reconsideration request will be rejected if you:
- make a new application before or after you send the request
- have since been given permission to stay in another visa category
- left the UK and your permission to stay has expired
- were removed or deported from the UK
- have already exhausted your appeal rights or lost your case in a judicial review
- need to make an appealor apply for an administrative review instead of making a reconsideration request
You may be eligible for or have rights in any of the above categories depending on your visa status or circumstances.
We are a UK law firm based in Kidderminster, near Birmingham and our solicitors are fully authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
For expert legal advice and services, contact AAN Joseph Solicitors on 015 6254 6550 or admin@ajs.org.uk