Four routes after a refusal, and which applies
Not every refusal carries a right of appeal, and choosing the wrong route wastes the deadline for the right one.
- Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal Available for human rights claims, protection claims and EU Settlement Scheme decisions. A judge hears the case afresh and can consider evidence that was not before the Home Office.
- Administrative review For eligible decisions where the caseworker made a case working error. It is a review of the existing decision, not a fresh look — new evidence generally cannot be introduced.
- A fresh application Often the fastest and best route where the refusal turned on missing or wrongly formatted evidence. It is not an admission of defeat; it is frequently the sensible answer.
- Judicial review Where there is no appeal or administrative review and the decision was unlawful. A specialist and expensive route with its own strict time limits.
Appeal or reapply? The question we are asked most
There is no universal answer, and any firm that gives you one without reading the refusal is guessing.
Reapplying is usually better where the refusal turned on something factual and fixable: a document missing, a bank statement in the wrong format, evidence that existed but was not supplied, a test certificate from an unapproved provider. A fresh application with the gap filled can be decided in weeks. An appeal on the same facts can take many months to reach a hearing.
Appealing is usually better where the refusal turned on judgement rather than paperwork: the caseworker did not accept your relationship was genuine, or did not accept your intention to leave, or reached a conclusion on Article 8 you disagree with. Those are matters a judge can reconsider, and a fresh application to the same Home Office is likely to produce the same answer.
There are also cases where both are possible and the right move is to appeal to preserve the position while preparing a fresh application in parallel.
Send us the refusal letter. Twenty minutes reading it tells us far more than any general answer could.
What happens at an appeal
The First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber, hears immigration appeals. A judge considers the case afresh — which is the important point, because you can put in evidence the Home Office never saw.
After lodging, the Home Office files its bundle and the tribunal sets directions with dates for your evidence, witness statements and any expert reports. A hearing follows, at which you and your witnesses may give evidence and be cross-examined by a Home Office presenting officer. Some appeals are decided on the papers without a hearing, which is quicker but removes your chance to explain.
Timescales vary considerably by tribunal centre and case type, and hearings some months after lodging are normal.
If the appeal fails, there may be a further appeal to the Upper Tribunal, but only on a point of law and only with permission. Disagreeing with the judge's conclusion on the facts is not a point of law, which is a distinction that disappoints many people and needs explaining honestly at the outset.
Deportation and removal
Where the Home Office has decided to deport you, or has issued removal directions, the position is more urgent still and the routes are different.
A human rights claim against deportation — usually based on family and private life under Article 8 — carries a right of appeal, and where deportation follows a criminal conviction the statutory tests are demanding. Time limits are short and, where someone is detained, extremely short.
Our legal fee for an application against deportation is £1,500, and for an appeal at the First-tier Tribunal £1,800, agreed in writing before we start.
If you or a family member is detained, or removal directions have been set, do not wait to gather documents before making contact. Call first. What matters in the first twenty-four hours is preserving the position, and that can be done while the evidence is still being assembled.