A reconsideration request asks the Home Office to look at a decision again, outside any formal process. It is free, it is discretionary, and it stops no clock. Used alongside a formal remedy it can fix an obvious error quickly; used instead of one it can cost you the deadline that mattered.
Reconsideration
Reconsideration Requests to the Home Office
What a Reconsideration Request Is
A written request that a decision be reviewed again, made outside the statutory remedies. It has no fee, no prescribed form and no time limit of its own. It also has no legal force: the Home Office is not obliged to reconsider, and is not obliged to reply within any period.
Reconsideration is free, discretionary and carries no deadline protection. It does not pause the time limits for administrative review, appeal or judicial review — 14 days in the UK, 7 in detention and 28 outside the UK for administrative review, and three months for judicial review. Use it alongside a formal remedy, never instead of one.
This is the mistake that costs people their case. Sending a reconsideration request and waiting for a reply while an administrative review or appeal deadline runs out leaves you with nothing when the reply eventually arrives. Protect the formal remedy first, then send the request in parallel.
When It Is Worth Using
- An obvious factual error: a misread date, a transposed figure, the wrong person's details.
- A document plainly overlooked: submitted, listed, and not referred to in the decision.
- The wrong version of the rules applied: to an application made before a change.
- A decision that contradicts itself: findings that cannot both be true.
- Where no formal remedy exists: and the alternative is only a fresh application or judicial review.
When It Is the Wrong Tool
Where evidence was missing, a fresh application supplies it and a reconsideration cannot. Where the disagreement is about the weight given to evidence, that is a merits argument no informal request will shift. And where a right of appeal exists, the appeal is the remedy — a tribunal can hear evidence that the Home Office is not obliged to look at again.
Writing the Request
Precision beats length. Identify the decision, name the error, point to the document that proves it, and say what the correct outcome would have been. A request that reads as a complaint about unfairness gets a form reply; one that reads as a correction gets read.
To: UK Visas and Immigration
[Date]
Applicant: [Full name], date of birth [DOB], nationality [country]
Application reference: [GWF or UAN]
Decision date: [Date]
Date notice received: [Date]
Request for reconsideration of the decision of [date].
The decision states at [page or paragraph]: "[quote the finding]".
That finding is factually incorrect. [The document submitted on DD Month YYYY, at page X of the bundle, shows Y.] The document was submitted with the application and appears in the document list at [reference]. A copy is attached for convenience.
Applying [the rule or guidance provision] correctly to that evidence, the requirement at [paragraph] is met.
I therefore ask that the decision be withdrawn and the application granted. I confirm that I have separately [lodged an administrative review / preserved my appeal rights] to protect the position while this request is considered.
[Signature]
[Name and contact details]
What to Attach
The decision notice, and only the documents that establish the error. Attaching the whole bundle again invites the reply that the application has already been considered. One clearly evidenced point is worth more than five assertions.
"Refusal to Supersede"
Where the Home Office declines to change a decision after reconsideration, the response often uses language about not superseding the original decision. It means the original stands, and it is not a fresh decision with fresh challenge rights of its own.
That is why the timing matters so much. A refusal to supersede does not restart any deadline, and it does not create a new decision to appeal or review. Whatever remedies existed against the original decision are the only ones there ever were.
Where to Send It
Use the channel named in your decision notice. Entry clearance decisions, in-country decisions and border decisions are handled by different teams, and a request sent to the wrong address is not forwarded so much as absorbed. Quote the application reference in the subject line and in the body.
Keep a copy of what you sent and the date you sent it. Where the matter later becomes a judicial review, the fact that the error was put to the Home Office and not addressed is itself relevant to how the court views the department's conduct.
Deadlines You Are Protecting
- Administrative review, in the UK: 14 calendar days from receiving the decision.
- Administrative review, in detention: 7 calendar days.
- Administrative review, outside the UK: 28 calendar days.
- Judicial review: promptly, and in any event within three months of the grounds arising.
- Appeal, where a right exists: as stated in the decision notice.
Each of those runs from the date the notice was treated as given rather than the date you read it — the second day after recorded post within the UK, the 28th day after posting abroad, and the day of sending for email. Establish that date before anything else.
How Long a Reply Takes
There is no published service standard, because the process is not a statutory one. Replies can take weeks or months, and some requests receive only an acknowledgement. Plan on the basis that no reply will arrive in time to be useful, and treat anything faster as a bonus.
For an in-country applicant that timing is critical. Section 3C leave continues while an in-time administrative review or appeal is pending — it does not continue for a reconsideration request. See our page on section 3C protection.
Keep the Tone Neutral
A request that reads as an accusation of incompetence is answered defensively; one that reads as a correction is answered practically. State the error as a fact, attach the proof, and ask for the specific outcome. There is nothing to gain from expressing how the decision felt, and something to lose.
This Is Not Mandatory Reconsideration
Mandatory reconsideration is a benefits process: a formal, defined stage that must be completed before appealing a Department for Work and Pensions decision. It has deadlines, a defined outcome and a statutory basis.
Immigration reconsideration has none of those features. The names are similar and the processes are unrelated, and applying the benefits logic — that you must reconsider before you can appeal — to an immigration decision is a common and damaging confusion.
If You Are Outside the UK
The calculation is easier abroad, because nothing about your status turns on the outcome. A fresh application is often faster and more certain than waiting on a request that may not be answered, and on most routes it costs less than the delay does. Reconsideration is worth a fortnight, not a season.
Pre-Action Letters Are Different Again
A pre-action protocol letter is a formal step before judicial review. It identifies the legal error, sets out the remedy sought, and gives the Home Office a period — usually fourteen days — to respond. It is part of litigation, and failing to send one invites criticism on costs.
Where the complaint is a legal error rather than a factual slip, a pre-action letter is the stronger instrument, because it carries the implicit prospect of a claim. See our page on the JR process.
Choosing Between the Remedies
Which Route Fits Which Problem
| Problem | Remedy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence was missing or unclear | Fresh application | The application fee |
| A document was submitted but not considered | Administrative review, where available | £80 |
| An obvious factual error | Reconsideration, alongside a formal remedy | Free |
| A human rights claim was refused | Appeal, where the right exists | £82 papers, £144 hearing |
| The wrong legal test was applied | Pre-action letter, then judicial review | £174 and upwards, plus costs risk |
Source: GOV.UK guidance and tribunal fee orders. Checked 22 August 2026.
Our pages on administrative review (AR), what to do after a refusal and appealing a family refusal set out each in detail.
Why the Home Office Sometimes Does Withdraw
A decision withdrawn informally costs the department nothing. A decision defended through an administrative review or a judicial review costs caseworker time, litigation resource and, if it fails, an adverse costs order. Where an error is plain and cheaply fixed, withdrawing is the rational outcome — which is why the plainest requests do best.
That logic explains what a good request looks like. It makes the error easy to see, easy to verify from the department's own file, and easy to correct without a fresh assessment. Anything requiring the caseworker to re-weigh evidence falls outside it, however strong the underlying case.
What Happens Next
- The decision is withdrawn: and the application reconsidered, which is the outcome you want.
- The decision is maintained: with a refusal to supersede and no new challenge rights.
- An acknowledgement only: with the substantive position unchanged.
- No reply at all: which is not unusual and is not itself actionable.
None of those outcomes affects the formal remedies, which is exactly why the formal remedy has to be protected first. Read the decision notice for the paragraph before deciding anything — see our pages on refusal letters and refusal grounds.
Sources: the GOV UK reconsideration request pages, the GOV UK decision review guidance and the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Figures verified 22 August 2026.
Frequently Asked
Reconsideration Questions
Does a reconsideration request cost anything?
No. It is free, has no prescribed form and no time limit of its own. It also has no legal force.
Does it pause my appeal or review deadline?
No. Deadlines continue to run. Protect the formal remedy first and send the reconsideration request in parallel.
How long will it take to get a reply?
There is no published standard. Weeks or months, and sometimes only an acknowledgement. Plan on the basis that no reply will arrive in time to be useful.
What does "refusal to supersede" mean?
That the original decision stands. It is not a fresh decision and it does not create new challenge rights or restart any deadline.
Is this the same as mandatory reconsideration?
No. Mandatory reconsideration is a benefits process with statutory deadlines and a defined outcome. Immigration reconsideration has none of those features.
Should I send new evidence with it?
Only the documents that establish the error. Where evidence was missing, a fresh application is the remedy — reconsideration cannot substitute for one.
Does section 3C continue while I wait?
No. It continues during an in-time administrative review or appeal, not during a reconsideration request. That is critical for in-country applicants.
Is a pre-action letter better?
Where the complaint is a legal error rather than a factual slip, yes. It is a formal step before judicial review and carries the prospect of a claim behind it.
Can I send more than one request?
You can, but repeated requests on the same facts achieve nothing and delay the decision to use a remedy that would.
Where do I send the request?
To the channel named in your decision notice. Entry clearance, in-country and border decisions are handled by different teams, and a request sent to the wrong address is unlikely to be forwarded.
What makes a request more likely to succeed?
An error that is plain on the department's own file and can be corrected without re-weighing evidence. Anything requiring a fresh assessment falls outside what reconsideration can do.
Is it ever the only option?
Where no appeal or administrative review exists and judicial review is disproportionate, it can be — alongside, or instead of, a fresh application. It is rarely the strongest option available.