Challenging a settlement refusal

Administrative review is the published remedy for most settlement refusals. This guide sets out its cost, its deadlines, what it does and does not consider, and what GOV.UK says about how long it takes.

Checked 22 February 20269 min readWritten by the Rowan Editorial Team

Section: ILR & Settlement
Reading time: 9 min
Last checked: 22 February 2026
Source: The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
Rowan does not: Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.

In short

Administrative review costs £80.
Deadlines: 14 days from getting the decision inside the UK, 7 days if detained on that day, 28 days outside the UK.
GOV.UK: “Currently, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review.” The Home Office will make contact with an update if nothing has arrived within 6 months.
A request is automatically withdrawn by making another immigration or visa application, asking for the passport back to travel, or leaving the UK. The fee is not refunded.
GOV.UK: if a visa has expired, a person will not usually be removed from the UK until the review is completed.

Where a settlement application is refused, the decision letter says whether the decision can be reviewed. Administrative review is a review inside the Home Office of whether the decision was correct on the evidence already provided. GOV.UK publishes the fee as £80, the deadline as 14 days from the decision for someone in the UK — 7 days if they were detained on the day — and 28 days for someone outside the UK, and the current timescale as 12 months or more. A right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal arises where a human rights or protection claim is refused.

Administrative Review

GOV.UK says the decision letter tells the applicant whether the decision can be reviewed. Paragraph SW 25.2 of Appendix Skilled Worker, for example, provides that a refused settlement application on that route carries a right to administrative review under Appendix AR of the Immigration Rules.

It is a review inside the Home Office of whether the original decision was correct on the evidence already before the decision maker. It is not a hearing, and it does not reconsider the case on new evidence.

GOV.UK sets out three eligibility conditions for a review from inside the UK: the applicant is in the UK, applied in the UK, and the application was refused. The equivalent conditions apply outside the UK. Applications are made online through the GOV.UK administrative review service, and the fee is £80. Paragraph AR 2.5 requires the fee to have been paid and the application to have been made within the relevant time limit for it to be valid.

On timing, GOV.UK is explicit: “Currently, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review.” It adds that if no decision arrives within 6 months, the Home Office will make contact with an update, and that “your rights are not affected by the delay in processing applications”. For someone in the UK whose visa has expired, GOV.UK says they “will not usually be removed from the UK until your review has been completed”.

A second review is not available unless the first found new reasons for the refusal; GOV.UK says the decision letter states whether one is possible. A request is withdrawn automatically if the person makes another immigration or visa application, asks for their passport back in order to travel, or leaves the UK, and in that case the fee is not refunded. GOV.UK does not publish a refund of the fee where a review succeeds.

Appeal Rights

A right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) arises where a decision refuses a human rights claim or a protection claim, rather than from the refusal of a settlement application as such. GOV.UK says a person who is not eligible for an administrative review may be able to appeal against the immigration decision instead, and the decision letter says which applies.

An appeal differs from an administrative review in that it is heard by a judge rather than decided inside the Home Office. GOV.UK describes the First-tier Tribunal as independent of government, and says a judge “will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision”. The deadline for lodging an appeal is set out in the decision letter and on the tribunal’s own service, and it is shorter for someone appealing from inside the UK than from outside it. Only an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor, may advise on or conduct an individual case; see our comparison of using a solicitor and applying alone.

Judicial Review

If neither administrative review nor appeal is available, or if they have been exhausted, judicial review is a last resort. This is a court challenge to the lawfulness of the Home Office's decision-making process, not the merits of the decision itself.

It is brought in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) or the Administrative Court, and the Civil Procedure Rules set out a pre-action protocol that comes first. It is conducted by solicitors and counsel, and it examines the lawfulness of the decision-making rather than substituting a different decision on the facts.

Immigration Status While a Review or Appeal Is Pending

Section 3C continues permission. Section 3C(2) of the Immigration Act 1971 extends permission during the periods when the application is pending, when an appeal could be brought, and while an appeal or administrative review is available or pending — provided the original application was made before the existing permission expired.
The conditions stay the same. Permission continued by section 3C carries the conditions of the permission it continues.
Leaving the UK ends it. Section 3C(3): leave extended under the section lapses if the applicant leaves the United Kingdom. GOV.UK separately says an administrative review request is withdrawn if the person leaves the UK.
Removal. GOV.UK says that where a visa has expired, a person “will not usually be removed from the UK until your review has been completed”.

The Requirements a Refusal Can Rest On

An administrative review asks whether the decision was correctly made against the published requirements, so those requirements are what a refusal turns on:

Continuous residence. Paragraph CR 3.1 of Appendix Continuous Residence allows not more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period; CR 4.1 lists what breaks continuous residence. See our guide to continuous residence.
Sponsorship and salary. On the Skilled Worker route, paragraphs SW 24.1 to SW 24.3 require an approved sponsor, their confirmation that the applicant is still needed and still paid enough, and a salary meeting the relevant row of the table — £41,700 a year in the general case, and in every case at least the going rate for the occupation code.
Suitability. Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, including the criminality grounds at SUI 5.1 to SUI 5.5 and the deception ground at SUI 9.1. Good character is a citizenship requirement rather than a settlement one; see our guide to settlement and criminal records.
Knowledge of language and life. The Life in the UK test at ages 18 to 64, and, on the routes that test it at this stage, the English language requirement. Our guide to common application errors covers the practical points.

Making a Fresh Application

A fresh settlement application can be made at any point, and an administrative review does not have to be exhausted first — though GOV.UK says a pending review request is withdrawn automatically if another immigration or visa application is made, and that a review requested after a new application has been submitted will be rejected. The fee is not refunded in either case.

A fresh application carries the full fee again: £3,226 for each person applying. See our settlement cost breakdown.

Questions and answers

Can a settlement refusal be appealed?

GOV.UK says the decision letter states whether the decision can be reviewed. Paragraph SW 25.2 of Appendix Skilled Worker, for example, provides that a refused settlement application on that route carries a right to administrative review under Appendix AR. Administrative review is a review inside the Home Office rather than a hearing. A right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal arises where the decision refuses a human rights or protection claim. GOV.UK adds that a person who is not eligible for an administrative review may be able to appeal against the immigration decision instead.

How much does an administrative review cost, and how long does it take?

GOV.UK states that it costs £80, and on timing: “Currently, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review.” It adds that if no decision has been received within 6 months, the Home Office will make contact with an update, and that a person's rights are not affected by the delay. GOV.UK does not publish a refund of the fee on a successful review; it does say the fee will not be refunded if the request is withdrawn.

What is the deadline for requesting an administrative review?

GOV.UK gives three deadlines. For someone in the UK who applied in the UK, 14 days from getting the decision, or 7 days if they were detained on the day they got it. For someone outside the UK who applied outside the UK, 28 days from getting the decision.

This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.

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