Immigration Appeals & Status Problems
Information and specialist signposting for visa refusals, tribunal appeals and immigration status problems. Every route on this page has a time limit attached to it.
- 14 days
- Administrative review deadline from the decision date
- 14 or 28 days
- Appeal deadline: in the UK, or outside the UK
- 3 months
- Judicial review deadline, though urgent action is often needed
- IAA-regulated
- We advise and refer; we do not conduct litigation
Specialist signposting — not a directly provided service
Wesbridge Associates is regulated at IAA Level 1 and does not provide this service. We can help you find a suitably authorised adviser. Wesbridge Associates is authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1. We do not conduct litigation, tribunal or court advocacy, or other work outside that authorisation. We can identify the type of help you may need and signpost or refer you to an appropriately authorised adviser, solicitor or barrister. A referral is not confirmation that the specialist will accept your case. If a deadline applies, seek authorised advice immediately. Read our regulatory disclosures.
What this means
A refusal or a status problem does not end the matter, but it does start a clock. The route you take depends on what kind of decision you were given and what was wrong with it.
Whether you have received a visa refusal, need to challenge a Home Office decision, or have immigration status problems, there are several distinct routes for putting it right. They are not interchangeable. Administrative review deals with caseworker errors on points-based applications. An appeal puts the decision in front of an independent immigration judge, but only in limited categories. Judicial review challenges the lawfulness of a decision in the High Court. Choosing the wrong route usually costs you the deadline for the right one.
Deadline
Your options
Five routes, each for a different kind of problem. Read the one that matches your decision notice.
Visa refusal appeals
Information about challenging a negative visa decision and signposting to appropriately authorised tribunal specialists.
Explore Visa refusal appealsAdministrative review
Ask the Home Office to reconsider its decision where a caseworker made an error. A quicker, paper-based process with no oral hearing.
Explore Administrative reviewImmigration tribunal
First-tier and Upper Tribunal proceedings require separately authorised legal representatives; we can signpost or refer you.
Judicial review
Challenge an unlawful Home Office decision in the High Court, on legal grounds rather than on the merits of your case.
Status problems
Resolve immigration status issues and rectification, including the Windrush scheme and documentation problems.
Explore Status problemsThe deadlines
- Administrative review, from the decision date
- 14 days
- Immigration appeal, if you are in the UK
- 14 days
- Immigration appeal, if you are outside the UK
- 28 days
- Judicial review
- 3 months
Judicial review carries the longest limit on paper, but urgent action is often needed long before three months have passed, particularly where removal directions have been set.
How these routes work
Where each route fits. All of them are handled by appropriately authorised specialists, not by us.
Appeal rights
Your refusal notice states whether you have a right of appeal. An authorised specialist can assess the grounds.
Administrative review
Where there is no appeal right, administrative review may be available for caseworker errors.
Fresh applications
Sometimes a new application that addresses the reasons for refusal is the best approach.
Judicial review
Where a decision may be unlawful, the challenge is made through the courts by authorised representatives.
What we do not do
Wesbridge Associates is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) to provide immigration advice and services. We do not conduct litigation or provide advocacy before the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, or the High Court in judicial review proceedings.
Where your matter requires representation in court or tribunal advocacy, we will signpost or refer you to a regulated solicitor or barrister who is authorised to act in those proceedings.
Free advice is available
Understanding your rights
- Some refusals come with limited appeal rights, on human rights grounds only, while others allow full appeals.
- Most challenges must be submitted within 14 to 28 days of the decision.
- Missing a deadline can mean losing your right to challenge the decision permanently.
- A paid consultation will review your case and explain the options that remain open.
Get connected to an authorised specialist
If a deadline applies, contact us straight away with the date on your decision letter. Wesbridge Associates is regulated at IAA Level 1 and does not provide this service. We can help you find a suitably authorised adviser.
Related
Other routes worth checking
Specialist signposting
Refused? The clock is already running
We do not conduct litigation or advocacy. We can signpost or refer you to an appropriately authorised adviser, solicitor or barrister before the deadline.