It can be extremely stressful and disheartening to receive a refusal letter from the Home Office in relation to an application for entry clearance or leave to remain in the UK. This is particularly true when the Home Office has made an error in relation to your application due to an oversight of the supporting documents or a failure to apply the correct Immigration Rules and practice guidance. In this post, we will answer important questions regarding the administrative review process and how you can successfully challenge a decision made by the Home Office.

An administrative review is a process that allows you to raise any permitted case work error that you think has been made on your application and, if an error has been made, have it corrected.

The decision notice will tell you if you can apply for an administrative review. You can also request a review if you wish to challenge the conditions or length of your leave.

Application categories that normally give applicants the right to apply for an administrative review include the following;

• Skilled worker visa
• Representative of an overseas business visa
• Global mobility visa
• Innovator founder visa
• Global talent visa
• Scale-up visa
• Student visa
• Temporary worker visa
• Minister of Religion visa

You can apply using the online form at Ask for a Visa Administrative Review.

There is a fee of £80 for an administrative review application.

An in-country request for administrative review must be made within 14 calendar days from the date you receive the decision notice or Biometric Residence Permit.

For entry clearance decisions, 28 calendar days from the date you received the decision notice.

Whether you can provide additional evidence will depend on the case working error claimed as part of your administrative review application.

For example, if the decision to refuse your application, on the basis that the supporting document did not meet the requirement of the Immigration Rules, was incorrect or where the decision maker has considered some or all of the evidence submitted incorrectly as evidenced then the reviewer cannot request for new evidence.

Our specialist immigration solicitors can assist you with your application and provide step-by-step guidance to ensure that the correct grounds are raised and the right evidence is submitted.

The administrative review will be carried out by a different caseworker who was not responsible for making the initial decision.

The caseworker will review your application, the grounds you have raised to challenge the claimed case working error and any additional evidence submitted, if applicable.

Applicants who are covered by section 3C leave and then apply in time for administrative review of an eligible decision have their leave further extended during the period when they are waiting for a decision on the review.

Your leave is extended under section 3C if both of the following apply:

• You made a valid application for an extension of stay before your leave expires; and

• Your leave expires before the application is decided or withdrawn.

It can take 6 months or more to receive a decision for the administrative review.

No, your application will be automatically withdrawn if you are making an in-country application for administrative review and your travel outside the UK.

No, your administrative review application will be treated as withdrawn if you make an application for entry clearance or leave to remain at the same time.

If your family members (your dependants) were included as part of your application that was refused, they can be included in the administrative review application. Furthermore, there is no additional fee for reviewing the decision in relation to any dependants who were legitimately included in the original application.

You will receive a decision confirming that the administrative review has been successful and why the decision has been withdrawn. You will also receive a grant of leave in accordance with your application.

If the Home Office maintain its refusal of leave, the application fee will not be refunded.

The fee will be refunded if the decision on the review is to grant leave. This includes cases where the outcome is that the original grant of leave was issued for the wrong period, or subject to the wrong conditions.

However, the fee will not be refunded if the original decision is withdrawn on the basis of evidence that was not held by the Home Office on the date of the original decision.

If your administrative review application is not successful or maintained, you will be required to leave the UK if you do not have leave.

We advise that you speak with a member of our specialist immigration solicitors if your application is unsuccessful to discuss your options and whether you can request a second or subsequent review.

You must ensure that you submit a valid, in-time application and address all the relevant issues properly by referring to the relevant supporting documents, Immigration Rules or practice guidance.

Administrative reviews can be extremely tricky to navigate because you must ensure that all the relevant grounds that you wish to rely on as part of your application are properly raised. This can be challenging because in many cases, the decision letter itself can be poorly drafted and confusing.

There needs to be a careful deconstruction of the decision letter to address each issue raised by the decision maker properly. There is no room for error at this stage and a failure to consider the issues thoroughly can lead to an unsuccessful application.

We recommend that you instruct an expert solicitor to deal with the administrative review application. At Saracens Solicitors we have extensive experience dealing with in-court and out-of-country administrative review applications. We will provide you with the support and guidance to ensure that your application is made correctly, in-time and that all the relevant issues are highlighted and addressed. Please call our immigration team on +44(0)20 3588 3500.