Visa Refusal Appeals
If your UK visa application has been refused, you may have the right to ask an independent immigration judge to review the decision. You have 14 days to lodge it from inside the UK, or 28 days from outside.
- 14 days
- Deadline to appeal if you are in the UK
- 28 days
- Deadline to appeal if you are outside the UK
- IAFT-5
- The appeal notice form, or lodge online
- First-tier Tribunal
- Immigration and Asylum Chamber hears the appeal
What this means
An appeal is not a second application. It is a request for an independent judge to decide whether the Home Office got the decision wrong.
If your UK visa application has been refused, you may have the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). An appeal allows an independent immigration judge to review the Home Office decision and determine whether it was legally correct.
We do not handle immigration appeals directly. We work with specialist higher-level appeal advisers who are experts in tribunal representation. We will assess your case, provide initial guidance, and connect you with the right legal team.
Deadline
Do you have a right to appeal?
Not all visa refusals carry a right of appeal. You typically have a right to appeal if one of the following applies.
Human rights or protection claims
The refusal engages your Article 8 rights to family or private life, or your protection rights.
Revocation of protection status
Refugee status or humanitarian protection has been revoked.
Deprivation of citizenship
British citizenship has been revoked.
EEA decisions (limited)
Certain decisions made under the EEA regulations.
No right of appeal?
Grounds for appeal
Two broad families of argument, and most appeals rest on one or the other.
Error in law
Legal grounds. The Home Office made an error in law when deciding your application.
Immigration Rules misapplied
Legal grounds. The rules were applied incorrectly to the facts of your case.
Decision not in accordance with law
Legal grounds. The decision itself was not made in accordance with the law.
Right to family life (Article 8)
Human rights grounds. The refusal interferes with your family life in the UK.
Right to private life
Human rights grounds. The refusal interferes with the private life you have built.
Best interests of children
Human rights grounds. The effect of the decision on children affected by it.
What happens next
Five stages from lodging the appeal notice to the judge's decision.
- 1Lodge
Submit appeal notice
Lodge the appeal within 14 days (UK) or 28 days (overseas) using form IAFT-5 or online.
- 2Response
Home Office response
The Home Office prepares its case and serves a bundle of documents.
- 3Prepare
Prepare your case
Gather evidence, prepare witness statements, and build your legal arguments.
- 4Hearing
Tribunal hearing
Attend a hearing before an immigration judge. It can be in person, by video, or paper-based.
- 5Outcome
Decision
The judge makes a decision: the appeal is allowed, dismissed, or the decision is remade by the Home Office.
- 1Lodge
Submit appeal notice
Lodge the appeal within 14 days (UK) or 28 days (overseas) using form IAFT-5 or online.
- 2Response
Home Office response
The Home Office prepares its case and serves a bundle of documents.
- 3Prepare
Prepare your case
Gather evidence, prepare witness statements, and build your legal arguments.
- 4Hearing
Tribunal hearing
Attend a hearing before an immigration judge. It can be in person, by video, or paper-based.
- 5Outcome
Decision
The judge makes a decision: the appeal is allowed, dismissed, or the decision is remade by the Home Office.
The time limits
- Appeal deadline if you are in the UK
- 14 days
- Appeal deadline if you are outside the UK
- 28 days
- The 28-day period is counted from the date of the refusal notice.
- Late appeals are rarely accepted, and only where there are exceptional circumstances.
- Contact us immediately after receiving your refusal to protect your rights.
If you have no right of appeal
A refusal without appeal rights is not the end of the matter, but the alternatives run on their own clocks.
Administrative review
Available for most points-based applications where a caseworker made an error. It must be requested within 14 days of the decision.
Fresh application
A new application that addresses the reasons given for the refusal is sometimes the faster and stronger route.
Get connected to appeal specialists
Do not accept a refusal without exploring your options. We will review your case and connect you with specialist appeal advisers who can represent you at tribunal.
Related
Other routes worth checking
Ready when you are
Refused? The clock is already running
Send us your refusal notice. We will tell you whether you have a right of appeal, what the grounds would be, and how many of your 14 or 28 days are left.