I am waiting or in a process
I want to appeal
Sample contentWhether you can appeal, and how long you have, is written in the decision letter. That deadline is the most important thing on this page.
Where you are · Refusal and appeal
- Refusal
- Deadline — you are here
- Appeal lodged
- Hearing
- Decision
You are here. The dates that matter are on your letter.
What the words mean
- Right of appeal
- Whether the decision can be challenged at a tribunal. Not every decision carries one.
- Administrative review
- A different route for some decisions, with its own deadline, decided by the Home Office rather than a judge.
- Judicial review
- A challenge to the lawfulness of a decision, used where there is no appeal. It is a court process and needs a lawyer.
What to do first
Step 1. Find the deadline in the decision letter and write it down.
Step 2. Work out which route the letter gives you: an appeal, a review, or neither.
Step 3. Get a regulated adviser now. Appeal grounds are a legal document and the deadline is short.
Step 4. Ask about legal aid, and ask early — a solicitor cannot take a legal aid case the day before a deadline.
Step 5. Keep going to any reporting appointments while the appeal runs.
What to gather
The decision letter and its envelope
Everything you sent with the original application
Anything new since the decision that supports your case
Who can help
We cannot tell you whether to appeal or what to argue. That is legal work with a deadline attached, and it is exactly what a regulated adviser is for.
Find a regulated adviserSample content · written for review · not checked by a lawyer or against the Immigration Rules