UK Administrative Review: Challenge a Home Office Decision
Recognised and regulated
What is a UK Administrative Review?
- The reviewer checks the original decision against the Home Office-published rules and guidance.
- Your decision letter should confirm whether Administrative Review is available to you.
Can you request a UK Administrative Review?
You can usually request a review if:
- Your refusal concerns entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay.
- The decision was made under a route listed in Appendix Administrative Review.
- Your decision letter confirms that Administrative Review is available.
- You can apply from the location required by the Rules.
- You can submit the form and fee within the stated deadline.
Another route may apply if:
- The notice gives you appeal rights instead.
- You want the Home Office to consider a different immigration route.
- Most Appendix EU decisions made after 5 October 2023 are excluded.
- You have already submitted a new immigration application.
- A Skilled Worker refusal does not carry Administrative Review rights in the notice.
What are the requirements for a UK Administrative Review?
A valid request depends on more than disagreeing with the refusal. UK Administrative Review requirements cover the decision, form, fee, deadline, and permitted grounds. Check every point against the notice, because a strong argument can still fail when the request itself is invalid.
Eligible decision
The refusal or cancellation must be an eligible decision under a route listed in the Appendix Administrative Review. A Home Office administrative review must identify a caseworking error within that decision. It cannot be used simply because you disagree with the outcome or prefer another immigration route.
Online application
The request must use the online Administrative Review form, and its submission date is the date you send it. Build your administrative review application around each permitted error, rather than retelling the whole immigration history. Complete every mandatory field carefully and keep a copy of the submitted grounds.
Correct deadline
Most in-country applicants have 14 calendar days from receiving the refusal notice. A detained applicant normally has 7 calendar days, while an entry-clearance refusal carries 28 days outside the UK. Treat the Administrative Review deadline as fixed unless the late-request test can be met carefully.
Application fee
The Administrative Review fee is £80 and is paid when the online request is submitted. The Home Office refunds it only in defined circumstances, including an invalid request or a qualifying successful outcome. Keep the payment reference with your case records for later correspondence with the Home Office.
Correct location
An entry-clearance refusal must be reviewed while you are outside the UK. If you applied for permission to stay inside the UK, you cannot request that review from abroad. The place of application is a validity requirement, so check it before submitting the form.
One review per decision
You normally receive one review of the eligible decision. A further request is possible only if the maintained decision gives different or additional refusal reasons. The new request must carefully address those reasons in the next decision notice and satisfy the relevant deadline as well.
No conflicting application
Submitting a new immigration application can make an earlier review invalid or withdrawn. For an in-country request, leaving the UK or asking for your passport to travel also ends the review. Take advice before choosing between review and another application, because the sequence matters.
Our Process
The AY&J Process
01
Discovery
Fifteen minutes with our client team to check for issues
Screening conversation, not legal advice
Eligibility assessment
We read the refusal and confirm you have a right of appeal.
You receive
A quick standing check
02
Consult
Solicitor-led case assessment
Immigration options mapped
Initial risk identification
We confirm your ground, appeal or JR, and protect your 3C leave.
You receive
Written next steps and a document schedule with dates
03
Caseworking
Application preparation
Evidence bundle assembled
Legal representations drafted
We draft the grounds and build the bundle and skeleton argument.
You receive
A complete appeal bundle
04
Assure & Submit
Senior associate review and evidence-gap check
Legal-risk review
Submission and correspondence
Proactive monitoring
Updates on schedule
We serve the bundle and represent you at the hearing.
You receive
A pre-submission assessment call
05
After Care
Decision explained
Immediate next steps
Future immigration roadmap
We explain the outcome and advise on any onward appeal.
You receive
An outcome letter and forward plan
This diagram describes our working method and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on individual circumstances and on Home Office decision-making.
What are the UK Administrative Review costs and processing times?
| Item | Figure | Application context |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | £80 | The Administrative Review fee is paid with the online request. |
| In-country refusal | 14 calendar days | Standard Administrative Review deadline for an applicant who is not detained. |
| Detained applicant | 7 calendar days | Deadline from the date the refusal notice is received. |
| Entry-clearance refusal | 28 calendar days | Applicant must request the review from outside the UK. |
| Published decision time | 12 months or more | Current Home Office processing position. |
| Home Office update | After 6 months | Update if no decision has been made. |
| Qualifying refund | Normally within 3 weeks | Measured from the Administrative Review decision date. |
Figures checked against GOV.UK in-country Administrative Review guidance and GOV.UK overseas Administrative Review guidance as of 2026.
Why choose AY&J Solicitors for an Administrative Review?
In our clients' own words.
“After our ILR rejection, AY&J pursued our case through Administrative Review and Judicial Review. The team was open, honest, knowledgeable and attentive to every detail. They kept us informed at every stage, supported us throughout an extremely difficult journey and helped us regain confidence in our case.”
“Even after a rejection of my Initial Application, they managed to overturn the decision in Administrative Review with very strong arguments.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility and applying
You have 14 calendar days from an in-country refusal and 28 from an entry clearance refusal. Detained applicants have 7 days. Late requests are normally rejected unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Eligibility and applying
The refusal letter says so. It will tell you whether a review is available, whether an appeal right exists, or whether neither applies. We will check that against Appendix AR before you pay anything.
Eligibility and applying
No, and this catches people out. Making a fresh application while a review is open means the review is treated as withdrawn. You will need to choose one route and commit to it.
Eligibility and applying
No, they are not. Visitor visa refusals carry no administrative review right at all under Appendix AR. The usual options are a fresh application or, in limited cases, a judicial review.
Eligibility and applying
Administrative review rights ended for EU Settlement Scheme applications made on or after 4 April 2024. Those refusals now run through appeal or judicial review instead. The date on the application decides which applies.
How reviews are decided
No, and that surprises most people. The review looks only at the evidence the Home Office already held when it decided. New material normally means making a fresh application.
How reviews are decided
Misreading the Immigration Rules, missing evidence, or relying on a fact that is wrong. Failing to follow the proper process also counts. Appendix AR sets out the full list.
How reviews are decided
Yes, always. A caseworker from a separate and independent team reviews the original decision. That is the whole point of the process, and it is why naming the error matters.
How reviews are decided
Deception cases are treated differently. Limited new evidence can be considered where deception has been alleged against you. We would suggest getting advice before you file anything at all.
Eligibility and applying
One for each eligible decision. A second request on the same refusal is normally not allowed. That is why the first one has to name the right error precisely.
Fees and timing
The fee is £80 and it does not change by visa route. There is no extra charge for dependants named in the original application. Some applicants are exempt entirely.
Fees and timing
Yes, where the decision is withdrawn for a caseworking error, or the review is rejected as invalid. The refund normally arrives within three weeks. No refund is issued if the original decision is upheld.
Fees and timing
The Home Office target is 28 calendar days. GOV.UK warns that overseas reviews can take twelve months or longer. An update follows if nothing has been decided within six months.
After the review
The refusal is withdrawn, and the decision is remade. Our administrative review immigration solicitors will tell you what that means for your status and dates. The £80 fee is refunded too.
After the review
You cannot appeal the review itself. The remaining options are a fresh application or, in limited cases, a judicial review. We will set out both of those before you decide anything.
After the review
The decision may be withdrawn for reconsideration, maintained for the same reasons, or maintained with changed reasons. If it remains in force, check whether Judicial Review, a court process examining lawfulness, is available.
Deadlines and waiting
If section 3C, which extends existing permission, applies, permission may continue during an in-time review. Leaving the UK still withdraws the review, so take legal advice before making any travel plans.
Deadlines and waiting
A new immigration application can invalidate or withdraw the review request. Compare that route with the administrative review process before acting, so you do not lose an existing live review.
Deadlines and waiting
The current published waiting time for an Administrative Review decision is 12 months or more. If 6 months pass without a result, the Home Office should contact you with an update.
Deadlines and waiting
The usual deadline is 14 calendar days in the UK, or 7 days if you were detained. An overseas entry-clearance refusal normally carries a full 28-day application deadline.
After the review
Usually, only one review is available for each eligible decision. A further Home Office administrative review may be possible if the maintained decision introduces different or additional new refusal reasons.
How the review works
Identify the part of the interview record that does not match what was said. Then connect that difference to the refusal reason and to the published guidance the decision-maker applied.
How the review works
A different Home Office reviewer should carefully consider the eligibility decision. The reviewer checks the Rules, published guidance, and original record, then decides whether the refusal should remain or be withdrawn.
How the review works
Usually, the reviewer considers the evidence available with the original application. New material is accepted only within limited listed exceptions, including certain deception issues and failures involving specified supporting documents.
How the review works
A caseworking error is a failure to apply the Immigration Rules or published guidance correctly. Your grounds should identify the precise mistake and explain how it materially changed the decision.
Review rights
No, a UK visa administrative review stays inside the Home Office and examines the original decision. A right of appeal leads to a tribunal and may involve different evidence, grounds, and deadlines.
Review rights
You may include an eligible family decision only in the circumstances set by the Rules. The family member must have been linked to the original application or a relevant cancelled permission.
Review rights
No, an entry-clearance refusal must be reviewed while you are outside the UK. Before applying online, check the decision letter, current location rule, and stated application deadline very carefully.
Review rights
Your decision notice should state whether UK Administrative Review is available and give the deadline. Check the route and decision type as well, since an incorrect notice does not, by itself, create eligibility.
Review rights
No, the decision must be eligible and made under a route listed in Appendix Administrative Review. Most Appendix EU decisions made after 5 October 2023 are excluded under the EUSS review changes.
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