Spouse Visa Appeal: How to Challenge a Refusal

Understanding Your Appeal Rights

GOV.UK is direct about this: you can only appeal to the tribunal if you have the legal right to appeal, and your decision letter will usually tell you whether you do. It will also usually tell you whether you can apply for an administrative review instead, where there is no right of appeal. Partner applications are treated as human rights claims under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life, and a refusal of one normally carries a right of appeal.

Your appeal is heard by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), which is independent of the Home Office. The tribunal looks at the evidence afresh and makes its own decision. It is not bound by the Home Office's original assessment.

The appeal process is set out in the GOV.UK tribunal guidance.

The Appeal Timeline

The deadline runs from the day you received the letter:

• In the UK: 14 days from the date you received the decision letter.
• Outside the UK: 28 days from the date you received the decision letter.
• If the letter says you must leave first: 28 days from the date you left the UK.
• If you are late: you must explain why. GOV.UK says the tribunal will then decide if it can still hear your appeal.

After that, the tribunal checks the appeal and tells you what happens next. It may ask you to pay the fee or to give more information, using form IAFT-2. A judge either decides the case on the appeal form and documents, or holds a hearing.

GOV.UK publishes no service standard for how long this takes, and this guide will not invent one. For a question about a particular appeal, the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is on 0300 123 1711, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, or at contactia@justice.gov.uk. It cannot give legal advice.

How to Lodge an Appeal

Appeals are lodged online through the GOV.UK tribunal appeals page. You will need:

• The refusal decision letter
• Your appeal grounds — a statement explaining why you believe the decision was wrong
• The fee: £82 without a hearing, or £144 with a hearing. You can pay by credit or debit card when you appeal online.
• Any supporting evidence you want to submit

GOV.UK lists people who do not have to pay the fee: those who get asylum support, those who get legal aid, and under-18s who get services from their local council. Separately, help with court fees is available if you have little or no savings, are on certain benefits, or have a low income. Contact the tribunal if you are unsure.

If you cannot use the online service, you can appeal by post or email using form IAFT-1. Form IAFT-3 asks for support at a hearing, such as an interpreter or wheelchair access.

The appeal grounds should address the specific reasons for refusal. If the refusal was on income grounds, explain how you believe you met the requirement. If it was on relationship genuineness, provide additional evidence of your relationship.

Submitting New Evidence

A significant advantage of the appeal process is that you can submit new evidence that was not included in your original application. This includes:

• Updated financial evidence (new payslips, bank statements, tax returns)
• Additional relationship evidence (photographs, communications, witness statements)
• Expert reports or letters of support
• Evidence of changes in circumstances since the refusal. Updated English language test results can be included if relevant

This is particularly useful if your application was refused because you missed a document or if your circumstances have changed since the original application. However, if you are submitting substantially different evidence, a fresh application might be faster.

The Hearing

If your appeal goes to an oral hearing, you (or your representative) will present your case to an immigration judge. The Home Office is usually represented by a Presenting Officer who argues why the refusal should stand.

At the hearing:

• You (or your representative) present your grounds of appeal
• Witnesses may be called (for example, the UK sponsor)
• The Home Office Presenting Officer responds
• The judge asks questions
• The judge gives the decision in writing afterwards. No published standard says how long that takes.

You do not have to have a representative. GOV.UK publishes a guide to representing yourself, and points you to a solicitor or immigration adviser if you are unsure whether you can appeal. See our DIY vs solicitor guide. Hearings are held in public. You can ask for one in private or to attend by video link, but you must have a reason.

Possible Outcomes

• Appeal allowed: The tribunal finds the decision was wrong, and the Home Office reconsiders the application in light of the tribunal's findings.
• Appeal dismissed: The tribunal agrees with the Home Office. You can request permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal if you believe the judge made a legal error.

If the appeal is allowed, the Home Office can request permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. This is relatively uncommon but does happen in some cases.

Appeal vs Fresh Application

Deciding whether to appeal or submit a fresh application depends on the reason for refusal:

• What an appeal does: an independent judge looks at the decision, and you can put in evidence that was not in the original application. It costs £82 or £144, and GOV.UK gives no expected time.
• What a fresh application does: the Home Office decides again on the evidence you send this time. It costs £2,064 from outside the UK or £1,407 inside, plus the health surcharge, against service standards of 12 weeks and 8 weeks. A refusal letter that names a requirement you did not meet tells you what the next application has to cover.

You can submit a fresh application while an appeal is pending. If the fresh application is approved, you can withdraw the appeal. This parallel approach is sometimes the most pragmatic strategy. See our guide on reapplying after refusal.

Costs

• Tribunal fee: £82 without a hearing, £144 with a hearing.
• No fee if you get asylum support, get legal aid, or are under 18 and get services from your local council. Help with fees is available on low savings, certain benefits, or a low income.
• Legal representation: set by the firm, so no figure is published centrally. Ask for a written quote before instructing anyone, and check the adviser is regulated.

Set against a fresh application: the application fee of £2,064 outside the UK or £1,407 inside, plus the immigration health surcharge.

Next Steps

The refusal letter is the document that answers most of this: it says whether you can appeal, whether an administrative review applies, and which requirement the Home Office found was not met. Our visa refusal guide explains what to look for. The deadline runs from the day you received it. You can find a regulated immigration adviser on GOV.UK; advisers are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.

Related guides:

• Spouse Visa Refused: Reapplying
• Spouse Visa UK: Complete Guide
• Common Application Mistakes
• Administrative Review

Questions and answers