A UK immigration appeal exists for three decisions only: refusal of a protection claim, refusal of a human rights claim, and revocation of protection status. Everything else has administrative review or a fresh application. Knowing which you are in decides your next move — and the tribunal is slower than almost anyone expects.
UK Visa Refusals
Who Has the Right to Appeal a UK Visa Refusal?
Which Refusals Carry Appeal Rights
Section 82 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 gives a right of appeal against three decisions: refusing a protection claim, refusing a human rights claim, and revoking protection status. Family applications under Appendix FM are human rights claims, so they qualify. Most visitor, student and work refusals do not, and have administrative review or reapplication instead.
The Immigration Act 2014 removed appeal rights from nearly every route. The sentence in a refusal letter saying you cannot appeal is usually an accurate statement of the law rather than a discouragement — check the refusal letter for what it actually says before deciding anything.
Appeal Rights by Decision Type
| Decision | Appeal right | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Asylum or protection claim refused | Yes | — |
| Refugee status revoked | Yes | — |
| Human rights claim refused | Yes | — |
| Family or partner application refused | Yes, as a human rights claim | — |
| Visitor visa refused | Usually no | Reapply, or judicial review |
| Student visa refused | Usually no | Administrative review |
| Skilled Worker refused | Usually no | Administrative review |
Source: section 82 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.
The Grounds Are Narrower Than the Argument
Section 84 confines the grounds to the Refugee Convention, humanitarian protection, and section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. That does not narrow what can be argued: a family appeal is run as an Article 8 case, within which whether the rules were met is one of the questions the judge answers.
Asylum and Protection Appeals
Where a protection claim is refused, the appeal asks whether returning the appellant would breach the Refugee Convention or the European Convention on Human Rights. New evidence is admissible, and country condition material often decides these cases.
- Asylum refusal: appeal against refusal of refugee status on fear of persecution.
- Humanitarian protection: where asylum is refused but a risk of serious harm is claimed.
- Revocation: where the Home Office moves to remove refugee status already granted.
- Deportation with a protection claim: where removal is resisted on protection grounds.
These are the largest and slowest category the tribunal handles. Asylum and protection appeals determined between January and March 2026 took a mean of 67 weeks to clear, and 40 per cent were allowed. Legal aid remains available for asylum work, which is not the case for most other appeals.
Human Rights Appeals under Article 8
Article 8 protects private and family life. An appeal succeeds where refusal would interfere with it disproportionately — which is a different question from whether the Immigration Rules were satisfied, and the reason cases can win at the tribunal that failed at the Home Office.
- Partner refusals: the single largest category — see our spouse visa refusal appeal guide for the family-specific process.
- Parent and child separation: where a British child or a child with long UK residence is affected.
- Private life: established ties making removal disproportionate — see the private life route.
- Long residence: twenty years' residence, or ten years lawfully, with removal in prospect.
- Exceptional circumstances: compassionate factors making refusal unjustifiably harsh — our exceptional circumstances guide covers the test.
It is widely assumed family appeals move faster than asylum ones. The opposite is true. In January to March 2026 the First-tier Tribunal cleared human rights appeals in a mean of 71 weeks, against 67 for asylum and protection and 61 across all categories — and the overall figure had risen 11 weeks on the year. Factor well over a year of separation into the decision to appeal.
The counterweight is the success rate: 44 per cent of human rights appeals were allowed in that quarter, the highest of any category. Where the Home Office weighed the Article 8 factors thinly, or refused on documents it misread, that is a real prospect. Our guide to spouse visa refusal grounds covers what those errors look like.
Visitor, Student and Work Visa Refusals
These carry no appeal. The remedy is chosen by the type of error rather than by preference, and picking the wrong one wastes both time and the deadline for the right one.
Remedies Where There Is No Appeal
| Remedy | Cost | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative review | £80 | A caseworking error on the evidence you sent; no new evidence considered |
| Fresh application | The full fee again | The documents did not prove the case — see refusal reasons |
| Reconsideration | Free | Discretionary, rare, no guaranteed response |
| Judicial review | £174 to lodge, £438 oral renewal, £874 substantive | The decision was unlawful rather than merely wrong |
Source: GOV.UK tribunal fee information; Upper Tribunal judicial review fees.
Appeal Is Not Administrative Review
An appeal goes to an independent judge who can hear evidence the Home Office never saw and substitute a different outcome. Administrative review is an internal check for caseworking error on the material already submitted. The two are routinely confused, and the confusion costs people the remedy that would have worked.
For most visitor refusals, a fresh application answering each stated reason beats any legal challenge — our guide to the chances of getting a visa after refusal and to supporting documents covers how to rebuild one. Route-level outcomes sit in our UK visa success rate data.
The First-tier Tribunal Process
The appeal is lodged online, or on the paper forms where that is not possible, within the deadline stated in the refusal letter. Fees are payable at lodging, with exemptions for those on asylum support or legal aid.
- Check the right: confirm from the refusal letter that an appeal is available and note the deadline.
- Lodge in time: 14 days from receipt of the decision inside the UK, 28 days outside it.
- Pay: £82 for a decision on the papers, £144 for a decision with a hearing.
- Set out grounds: answer each refusal ground; anything unanswered is treated as conceded.
- File evidence: build the bundle to the tribunal's directions, not to your own timetable.
- Attend: in person, by video, or accept a determination on the papers.
Tribunal Performance, January to March 2026
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mean time to clear, all categories | 61 weeks |
| Human rights appeals | 71 weeks |
| Asylum and protection appeals | 67 weeks |
| EEA free movement appeals | 46 weeks |
| Allowed, all categories | 39 per cent of 7,000 determined |
| Allowed, human rights | 44 per cent |
Source: Ministry of Justice, Tribunal Statistics Quarterly, January to March 2026.
Your Status While the Appeal Runs
An in-time in-country appeal made while you held valid permission keeps that permission alive under section 3C until the appeal is finally determined. You are not an overstayer. Leaving the UK ends that protection, so travel has to wait — including for a funeral, which the statute makes no exception for.
Upper Tribunal and Beyond
A dismissed appeal can go further only on an arguable error of law. The Upper Tribunal does not rehear the facts, and disagreeing with the judge's findings is not a ground. Permission is required, and strict time limits apply from the date the determination is sent.
The Appeal Hierarchy
| Level | What it considers |
|---|---|
| First-tier Tribunal | Facts and law; new evidence admissible |
| Upper Tribunal | Errors of law only, with permission |
| Court of Appeal | Points of law, with permission |
| Supreme Court | Cases of general public importance |
Source: Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007; GOV.UK tribunal guidance.
The Upper Tribunal also hears immigration judicial reviews. Of its substantive determinations in the first quarter of 2026, 41 per cent went in the appellant's favour — a reminder that judicial review asks whether a decision was lawful, not whether it was right, and that winning produces a fresh decision rather than a visa.
Representation
Not required at the First-tier Tribunal, and many documentary appeals are conducted without it. Above that level it is effectively necessary, because the question becomes a legal one. Legal aid is available for asylum work; for most other appeals it is not, which is itself a factor in whether to appeal or reapply.
Sources: the immigration and asylum tribunal pages on GOV.UK; Ministry of Justice tribunal statistics for January to March 2026; sections 82 and 84 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. Where a decision is delayed rather than refused, see our guide to Home Office processing delays, and for settled status questions our indefinite leave to remain and human rights claim guides. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Questions about UK Immigration Appeals
Almost never. Section 82 gives appeal rights against refusal of a protection claim, refusal of a human rights claim, and revocation of protection status — a visitor refusal is none of those unless it engaged human rights grounds. The practical remedies are a fresh application answering each stated reason, or judicial review where the decision was unlawful.
An appeal goes to an independent tribunal that can hear new evidence and substitute its own decision. Administrative review is an internal Home Office check for caseworking error on the material already submitted, and cannot consider anything new. Most points-based refusals qualify only for review, at £80, on a short deadline stated in the refusal letter.
In January to March 2026 the First-tier Tribunal cleared cases in a mean of 61 weeks: 71 weeks for human rights appeals, 67 for asylum and protection, and 46 for EEA free movement. The overall figure had risen 11 weeks on the previous year. An onward appeal to the Upper Tribunal adds substantially to that.
Across all categories, 39 per cent of the 7,000 cases the First-tier Tribunal determined in the first quarter of 2026 were allowed. Human rights appeals did best at 44 per cent, asylum and protection reached 40 per cent, and EEA free movement 30 per cent. At the Upper Tribunal, 41 per cent of substantive judicial review determinations favoured the appellant.
Fourteen days from receiving the decision if you are in the UK, and 28 days if you are outside it. Late appeals are admitted only where the tribunal exercises its discretion to extend time, so lodge within the deadline and refine the grounds afterwards if necessary. The refusal letter states the date the decision was sent.
£82 for a decision made on the papers and £144 for a decision with a hearing, with exemptions for people receiving asylum support or legal aid. Judicial review in the Upper Tribunal is priced differently: £174 to lodge, £438 to renew orally after a paper refusal, and £874 for a substantive hearing, before any representation.
Yes, and it is the principal advantage of an appeal over administrative review, which considers nothing new. Evidence should answer the specific grounds in the refusal letter and be filed by the date the tribunal directs. Material arriving after that risks being excluded however relevant it is.
If you held valid permission when the application was refused and lodge in time from inside the UK, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues that permission on the same conditions until the appeal is finally determined. Leaving the UK ends section 3C leave, and the statute provides no compassionate exception for travel.
The Home Office must act on the tribunal's findings, but it may first seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal within the applicable deadline. If it does not, it implements the decision and contacts you with instructions — usually to submit your passport. If permission is granted, the case continues and the wait extends again.