Administrative Review allows certain Home Office immigration decisions to be reconsidered where a caseworking error may have been made. It is a specific remedy and is available only for eligible decisions.
If your application has been refused, the first task is to understand precisely why. We review the decision and advise on which options are open to you and which is strongest.
A refusal letter tells you the outcome. It does not always make clear what actually went wrong, and applicants frequently misread it, assuming the Home Office disbelieved them when the real problem was a document in the wrong format, or assuming the case is hopeless when the refusal rests on an error that can be corrected.
Getting this diagnosis right matters because it determines which route is available. The options are not interchangeable, and you do not get to choose freely. An administrative review addresses a caseworking error. An appeal to the Tribunal is available only where the decision carries an appeal right, which depends on the type of decision rather than on how unfair it feels. A fresh application may be the strongest option where the original was refused on evidence that can now be supplied. And in limited cases, judicial review is the only remedy.
Deadlines run from the date of the decision and are short. They are applied strictly, and missing one usually removes that option permanently. This is the single most common way people lose remedies that were available to them.
Anyone who has received a refusal, a curtailment, a revocation or another adverse immigration decision, whether the application was made in the UK or from abroad.
Administrative Review is not an appeal or a new immigration application. It considers whether an eligible decision was incorrect because the Immigration Rules or relevant Home Office guidance were not applied correctly.
This may include circumstances where:
Simply disagreeing with the decision does not necessarily mean that a caseworking error has been made. Not every refusal qualifies for Administrative Review. Depending on the decision, the appropriate next step may instead be an appeal, a fresh application or another legal remedy.
Administrative Review generally considers the original application and the evidence that was before the Home Office when the decision was made.
New evidence can only be considered in limited circumstances.
If an application was correctly refused because important evidence was missing, a fresh application may sometimes be more appropriate.
The correct response to an immigration refusal depends on the type of decision and the reason it was made.
Our immigration team can review your decision, identify whether Administrative Review or another option is available and advise you on the appropriate next steps.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration law and Home Office policy are subject to change, and individual advice should be obtained promptly following an immigration decision.
Strict time limits apply and the deadline depends on the type of decision and the applicant’s circumstances. Time limits vary by remedy and by whether you are in the UK or abroad, and they are measured in days rather than weeks.
They run from the date of the decision, not the date you read it. The decision notice should therefore be checked as soon as possible. Contact us as soon as you receive a refusal, even if you have not decided what to do.
Administrative Review is available only for eligible immigration decisions.
The Home Office decision notice will normally state whether you have a right to apply for Administrative Review.
Appeal rights depend on the type of decision, not on the strength of your grievance.
Refusal of a human rights claim or a protection claim generally carries an appeal right; refusal of many points-based and visitor applications does not. The decision letter should state the position, and we confirm it.
This depends on why the original application was refused.
If the refusal appears to result from a Home Office caseworking error, Administrative Review may be appropriate.
If the decision was correct based on the evidence originally submitted but the problem can now be addressed with additional or improved evidence, a fresh application may sometimes be the better option.
Where the refusal rests on a judgment about your credibility or circumstances, an appeal may be the only meaningful remedy.
If the Administrative Review succeeds, the eligible decision will be withdrawn and reconsidered with the identified error addressed.
If you make a new application for entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay while your Administrative Review is pending, the Administrative Review will be treated as withdrawn.
It is therefore important to consider your options before making another application.
The options available will depend on the individual circumstances and the type of immigration decision.
A fresh application or another legal remedy may be available in some cases.
It can. Refusals form part of your immigration history and are visible in later applications, and some refusals, particularly those involving deception, have consequences that persist for years.
This is one reason it is worth addressing a refusal properly rather than simply reapplying and hoping.
Yes. We frequently review decisions on applications prepared elsewhere, and part of the value of an independent review is that it is not defending earlier choices.
