General grounds for refusal now live in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules, under SUI paragraph numbers. They apply across routes: an application that meets every requirement of the route can still be refused because of conduct, character or immigration history. Whether the ground is mandatory or discretionary changes everything about how you answer it.
Suitability
General Grounds for Refusal Under Part Suitability
What Part Suitability Does
Every route has eligibility requirements — the salary, the relationship, the funds. Part Suitability sits above all of them and asks a different question: should this person be granted permission at all. It governs refusal of entry clearance and permission, and the cancellation of permission already held.
Mandatory grounds include exclusion directed personally by the Secretary of State (SUI 2.2), a custodial or suspended sentence of twelve months or more (SUI 5.2), and deception in an application (SUI 9.2). Discretionary grounds include non-conducive presence (SUI 3.2), lesser criminality (SUI 5.5), sham marriage (SUI 8.2), failure to provide information (SUI 14.2), medical grounds (SUI 19.2) and changed circumstances or purpose (SUI 25.1 and 25.2).
The Distinction That Decides Your Strategy
Mandatory grounds use "must be refused" or "must be cancelled". Discretionary grounds use "may be". Against a mandatory ground, arguing that the outcome is harsh achieves nothing — the only available argument is that the ground does not apply on the facts. Against a discretionary ground, how the discretion was exercised is itself open to challenge.
- Mandatory: no balancing. Establish the ground, and the outcome follows.
- Discretionary: the decision maker weighs the conduct against your circumstances.
- Mandatory: mitigation is irrelevant to the decision, though not to any human rights argument.
- Discretionary: mitigation, time elapsed and the strength of your ties all matter.
- Both: the paragraph number appears in the refusal notice, so identify it first.
Adverse Immigration History
Part Suitability requires refusal of entry clearance or permission to enter where the applicant has previously breached immigration laws and the application is made within the relevant time period. That is SUI 11.1, and the periods are at SUI 12.1.
What Counts as a Breach
- Overstaying: remaining after permission expired.
- Breaching conditions: working where work was prohibited, studying where study was.
- Illegal entry: entering without leave or by evading control.
- Removal or deportation: and the manner in which it was carried out.
- Deception: in any application, including one made by a family member in some contexts.
- Failure to leave when required: after a notice was served.
The Rule That Outlasts the Ban
SUI 11.2 permits refusal even outside the relevant period where the applicant has acted to frustrate immigration controls. Waiting out a ban is therefore not always the end of the matter, and a record of absconding, repeated false applications or obstructed removal can be relied on afterwards.
Re-Entry Bans
Ban Length Under SUI 12.1
| Circumstances | Period |
|---|---|
| Left voluntarily at your own expense | 12 months |
| Left voluntarily at public expense, within 6 months of a removal notice | 2 years |
| Left voluntarily at public expense, after that point | 5 years |
| Left or removed as a condition of a caution | 5 years |
| Removed at public expense | 10 years |
| Deception used in an application | 10 years |
Source: Immigration Rules, Part Suitability, paragraph SUI 12.1. Checked 22 August 2026.
Each period runs from the date the person left the UK. Our page on bans on returning to the UK works through how the categories are established and challenged, and which application types the bans do not reach.
Medical Grounds
SUI 19.2 allows permission to be cancelled where a medical inspector advises that entry is undesirable. It is discretionary and rarely used, but it is the paragraph behind referrals to a port medical inspector where a traveller states they are receiving or intend to receive treatment.
Tuberculosis Certificates
A separate requirement, and a common cause of avoidable refusal. You need a tuberculosis test certificate if you are coming to the UK for six months or more and have lived in a listed country for six months or more within the previous six months. The certificate is valid for six months from the date of the X-ray.
- Under-11s: children under 11 will not normally have a chest X-ray, but must still see a clinician.
- Short stays can still need it: Returning Resident applications and fiancé or fiancée family applications require it regardless of length.
- Exceptions: diplomats, returning residents absent under two years, and Ukraine scheme applicants.
- Timing: six months' validity means testing too early can leave you without a valid certificate at the decision.
- Approved clinics only: a test at an unapproved clinic does not satisfy the requirement.
Deception and False Representations
SUI 9.1 is mandatory: an application for entry clearance or permission must be refused where the decision maker is satisfied the applicant used deception, by making false representations or providing false documents or information, or by not disclosing relevant facts. SUI 9.2 allows cancellation of permission extended under section 3C on the same basis.
SUI 10.1 and SUI 10.2 are the discretionary counterparts. They cover false representations, documents or information provided by the applicant or a third party — and they apply whether or not the material was relevant to the application, and whether or not it was provided to the applicant's knowledge. 10.1 permits refusal; 10.2 permits cancellation of entry clearance or permission held.
Beyond the refusal or cancellation, deception used in an application attracts a ten-year period under SUI 12.1 — the same as removal at public expense. It is the most damaging finding in the rules, and it attaches to people who never overstayed. Take advice before responding to any allegation of it.
Not every error is deception. A mistake corrected promptly, or a fact omitted because the form did not ask for it, is not the same as a false representation. The distinction is worth arguing where it exists — see our page on the 10-year deception ban.
Criminality
SUI 5.2 is mandatory and covers a custodial or suspended sentence of twelve months or more, a persistent offender who shows a particular disregard for the law, and an offence causing serious harm. SUI 5.5 is discretionary and covers sentences under twelve months, non-custodial sentences and out-of-court disposals.
SUI 3.2 sits alongside both: permission may be refused or cancelled where a person's presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. That ground does not require a conviction at all, and it is the one used where conduct is established by other means.
Some routes require a criminal record certificate from every country you have lived in for twelve months or more in the last ten years — see our page on criminal record certificates. Declare convictions whether or not a certificate is required; concealment converts a discretionary problem into a mandatory one.
Overcoming a Discretionary Ground
Where the ground is discretionary, the task is to give the decision maker something to weigh. Time elapsed since the conduct, a clean record since, established family life in the UK, the interests of a child, and a purpose for the visit that is short, specific and verifiable all carry weight where the rules permit weighing at all.
What does not help is silence. An application that says nothing about a known history invites the caseworker to form their own view of it, and then to record non-disclosure as well. Address the history in the additional information field, briefly and factually, with the documents that support your account.
Working Out Where You Stand
- Find every previous decision: refusals, cancellations and removal notices, with dates.
- Establish how you left the UK: and who paid, with tickets and boarding passes.
- Identify the paragraph in any earlier notice: SUI numbers tell you the category.
- Calculate from the date of departure: not from the breach or the decision.
- Request your immigration file if unsure: a subject access request produces the record.
A subject access request is slow but decisive where your own account and the Home Office record may differ. It is the only way to see what a caseworker will see before they see it.
Electronic Travel Authorisation
An ETA is a permission to travel rather than a visa, but it is refused on suitability grounds in the same way. Criminality, adverse immigration history and deception all bite, and a refusal means applying for a visa instead of travelling on the authorisation.
Because an ETA is cheap and quick, applicants with a history sometimes treat it as a low-stakes test of their position. It is not — a refusal is a decision that must be declared afterwards. See our page on the ETA scheme.
The Grounds in One Place
Suitability Paragraphs and What They Cover
| Paragraph | Ground | Type |
|---|---|---|
| SUI 2.2 | Personal exclusion direction by the Secretary of State | Mandatory |
| SUI 3.2 | Presence not conducive to the public good | Discretionary |
| SUI 5.2 | Sentence of 12 months or more, persistent offending, serious harm | Mandatory |
| SUI 5.5 | Lesser sentences and out-of-court disposals | Discretionary |
| SUI 8.2 | Sham marriage or civil partnership | Discretionary |
| SUI 9.1 | Deception in the application: false representations, documents, information or non-disclosure | Mandatory refusal |
| SUI 9.2 | Deception, allowing cancellation of section 3C permission | Discretionary |
| SUI 10.1 and 10.2 | False material from the applicant or a third party, whether or not to their knowledge | Discretionary |
| SUI 11.1 | Previous breach within the relevant period | Mandatory |
| SUI 14.2 | Failure to attend an interview or provide information | Discretionary |
| SUI 19.2 | Medical inspector advises entry is undesirable | Discretionary |
| SUI 25.1 | Change of circumstances since the grant | Discretionary |
| SUI 25.2 | Arriving for a different purpose from the one specified | Discretionary |
Source: Immigration Rules, Part Suitability. Checked 22 August 2026.
What You Can Do
Start with the paragraph. A mandatory ground needs a factual answer — the category is wrong, the dates are wrong, the document was genuine. A discretionary ground allows an argument about weight, which is where mitigation, time elapsed and family circumstances belong.
The available routes are administrative review (AR) where offered, an appeal where a right exists, human rights grounds where family or private life is engaged, and the JR process for unlawfulness. Our pages on reading the refusal letter and what to do next set out the choice.
Sources: Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules on GOV UK, the Home Office general grounds guidance, the GOV UK tuberculosis testing pages and the guidance on requesting personal data. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Suitability Questions
What is the difference between mandatory and discretionary grounds?
Mandatory grounds require refusal once established, with no balancing. Discretionary grounds allow the decision maker to weigh the conduct against your circumstances, which means the exercise of discretion can itself be challenged.
Can I be refused even though I meet all the route requirements?
Yes. Part Suitability sits above the route requirements and applies to every application. Meeting the salary or the relationship test does not answer a suitability ground.
Do I have to declare a conviction from years ago?
Yes. Declare it whether or not a certificate is required. Non-disclosure of a relevant fact is itself a mandatory refusal ground under SUI 9.1, so concealment is worse than the conviction.
When do I need a tuberculosis certificate?
If you are coming for six months or more and have lived in a listed country for six months or more in the previous six months. It is valid for six months from the date of the X-ray.
Do children need a chest X-ray?
Children under 11 will not normally have one, but they must still be seen by a clinician at an approved clinic.
How long does a deception finding last?
Ten years under SUI 12.1, the same as removal at public expense. It applies whether or not you also breached immigration laws.
Can I be refused after my ban has expired?
Yes. SUI 11.2 allows refusal outside the relevant period where the applicant has acted to frustrate immigration controls, and the history remains relevant to credibility.
What does "not conducive to the public good" mean?
A discretionary ground at SUI 3.2 covering conduct that makes a person's presence undesirable. It does not require a conviction and is used where conduct is established by other means.
Can an ETA be refused on these grounds?
Yes. Criminality, adverse immigration history and deception all apply. A refusal must then be declared on later applications, so it is not a cost-free test of your position.
How do I find out what the Home Office holds about me?
By making a subject access request for your immigration file. It is slow, but it is the only way to see the record a caseworker will be reading.