Can I appeal if my UK visa is refused?

The remedy you have depends entirely on which route was refused, and the refusal letter itself will tell you which one applies and by when. Read it before doing anything else: it sets out the reasons under the Immigration Rules, the remedy available, the deadline, and whether you must leave the UK.

The three routes, compared

• Administrative review — a paper-based check by a different UKVI caseworker for errors of law, fact or procedure. It applies to most points-based decisions (Skilled Worker, Student, Graduate, Innovator). It does not reconsider the merits and generally does not allow new evidence. The fee is £80 and success rates are low, at roughly 10–15%, precisely because the scope is so narrow.
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) — a full merits review before an independent judge who can hear new evidence and make fresh findings of fact. It is available for human rights and protection claims and for most family visa refusals (spouse, partner, parent of a British child). Expect six months to over a year from lodging to hearing.
• Judicial review — the last resort where no appeal or review exists and the decision is arguably unlawful: a breach of natural justice, a failure to follow published policy, or a decision outside the decision-maker's powers. It cannot substitute a different outcome, only quash the decision for reconsideration, and typically runs 12–24 months with a permission filter at the start.

The time limits are the same for review and appeal and they are strict: 14 days if you are in the UK, 28 days from overseas.

When reapplying beats challenging

For visitor visas there is no choice — there is no administrative review and no appeal, so a better-evidenced fresh application addressing each refusal reason is the only practical route. It is often the better option elsewhere too, where the problem was a missing bank statement or thin relationship evidence rather than a legal error, since a new application can be decided far faster than a tribunal appeal.

Two cautions. If you are in the UK and lodge an in-time review or appeal, section 3C leave usually extends your permission while it is pending — do not leave the country without advice, as departure can be treated as abandoning the challenge. And every previous refusal must be declared in future applications; those involving deception findings can affect applications for years. Use an OISC-regulated adviser or solicitor, not an unregulated "immigration consultant".