What is administrative review of a visa decision?
Short answer
An internal Home Office check for caseworking errors — not a fresh look at the merits of your application. It costs £80 in-country and is free from overseas, with strict deadlines of 14 days in the UK and 28 days abroad. Success rates are low, around 10–15%.
Administrative review is a narrow remedy, and understanding how narrow it is will save you time and money. A reviewing officer looks only for a caseworking error in the original decision, not at whether the refusal was fair or reasonable overall.
What counts as a caseworking error
- Applying the wrong rule or legal provision to the facts
- Failing to take into account evidence that was clearly submitted with the application
- An arithmetical mistake — for example miscalculating a salary against a threshold
- A factual conclusion unsupported by anything in the file
What it does not cover is a difference of view about how evidence should be weighed, or a credibility finding. That is why only around 10–15% of reviews overturn the decision, and why reapplying with better evidence is often the faster route where the refusal was evidentially sound.
The mechanics
- Deadlines: 14 days from within the UK, 28 days from overseas. Missing them normally ends the option; out-of-time requests are only considered in exceptional circumstances such as serious illness.
- Fee: £80 in-country, free from overseas. It is refunded if the review succeeds and leave is granted, not otherwise.
- New evidence is generally not admissible — the review considers what was before the original decision maker, with narrow exceptions such as an inaccurate document verification.
Check whether you have something better
An appeal to an independent tribunal judge is a far stronger remedy: the judge can consider the full merits and new evidence. Your refusal notice must state whether you have a right of appeal and the time limit for lodging it. If it is silent and you believe the refusal engages human rights grounds, take urgent legal advice — a wrong assertion by UKVI that no appeal right exists is itself challengeable, but only within the deadlines.
If the refusal followed poor advice, you can complain about an OISC-regulated adviser to the OISC, or about a solicitor to the SRA, and professional negligence claims are possible where you suffered financial loss. Whatever route you choose, act on the decision letter immediately: every option here is measured in days, not weeks.
Related guides
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