UK Visa Refusals & Appeals

We understand the worries and concerns of those who have unfortunately been refused a UK visa, that is why we at Imperial & Legal are able to fully advise you on the available options to move forward. We have full rights of advocacy before the Immigration and Asylum Tribunals in the UK and 10 years experience of successfully representing clients at court.

If you have been refused a UK visa, we would always advise you to contact us so that we can discuss your case and advise you in detail about the available options for you. The type of decision you have received from the Home Office determines the options available to you.

Appeal against UK visa refusal

If you have made a Human Rights, Protection or an EEA application you should have a right of Appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. This is where an independent Immigration Judge will consider and determine your case.

The date of the decision is very important, as for in-country UK visa refusals you must lodge your Appeal no later than 14 calendar days after you are sent the Refusal Letter by the Home Office, 28 calendar days if you have received an out of country Refusal Letter from the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) or Secretary of State. It is advisable to keep the envelope in which you received the UK visa Refusal Letter as this is proof of when it was sent as there will be a post mark and date.

If you do not lodge your Appeal within these time frames then we can apply to the Tribunal for an extension of time if there are sufficient grounds as to why the Appeal is being lodged late, for instance illness or other matters.

After you have lodged your Appeal you will be sent a Notice of Hearing setting out the date, venue and directions for your Appeal Hearing. We here at Imperial & Legal are able to provide support at any stage of your Appeal, including:

• Reviewing your case and refusal letter;
• Drafting Grounds of Appeal for your case and lodging your Appeal;
• Preparing an extension of time application;
• Advising you on the documents and evidence required for your Appeal;
• Reviewing the Respondent’s bundle;
• Preparing your bundle of supporting evidence with an index;
• Drafting the Skeleton Argument in support of your case;
• Attending and representing you at the Immigration and Asylum Chamber;
• Constant support of your case.

Administrative Review

An Administrative Review is where the Home Office will consider whether an ‘eligible decision’ is wrong because of a case working error and, if it is, they will correct that error. Errors include where they have granted the incorrect amount of leave or have not fully considered your application and all supporting evidence. The ‘eligible decision’ can be summarised into three types:

1. In-country

If you have made an in-country application under Tiers 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the Points-Based System of the Immigration Rules then you should have a right to an Administrative Review. You have 14 calendar days from the date you received the decision notice in order to submit your Administrative Review.

2. At the border

If a Border Force Officer cancels your leave to enter or remain in the UK , due to change of circumstances, false representations or failure to disclose material facts then you should have a right to an Administrative Review. If you apply for an Administrative Review from within the UK then you have 14 calendar days from the date you received the decision in order to submit your Administrative Review, 28 calendar days if you apply from outside of the UK.

3. Overseas

For entry clearance applications you will have a right to an Administrative Review unless your application is that of a short-term student, visit visa or human rights. You have 28 calendar days from the date you received the decision in order to make a request for an Administrative Review.

We here at Imperial & Legal are able to provide support at any stage of your Administrative Review, including:

• Reviewing your case and refusal letter;
• Drafting Grounds for Administrative Review and submitting your Administrative Review;
• Advising you on the documents and evidence required for your Administrative Review (please note: new documents and evidence will not be considered, however at times, the Home Office fails to consider documents and evidence submitted with your previous application, so we may need to resubmit them);
• Constant support of your case.

New Application

Depending upon your personal circumstances and the constraints of time, it may be in some cases be advisable to submit a new application, with legal representations fully addressing the previous refusal letter. We have had many cases over the years where this has proved successful and the requested leave has been granted swiftly. However, we would always advise on having a full consultation where we can discuss your case and individual circumstances before we can give full case specific advice, as every case is unique.

We here at Imperial & Legal are able to provide support at any stage of your New Application, including:

• Reviewing your case and refusal letter;
• Advising you on the documents and evidence required for your new application;
• Preparing your new application;
• Drafting legal representations in support of your new application;
• Constant support of your case.