Administrative review

• It must be made online using the administrative review form
• Any fee must have been paid
• The application must be made outside the UK (where it relates to a decision to refuse an application for entry clearance)
• Only one administrative review application can be made for any eligible decision, unless an application for administrative review has already been made and the decision to refuse the application has been maintained but for different or additional reasons and the applicant now wishes to challenge the revised decision
• The application must be made within the relevant deadline of 28 days for entry clearance or 14 days for permission to stay, unless the decision maker is satisfied that it would be unjust not to waive the time limit and that the application was made as soon as reasonably practicable

The advantages of applying for administrative review are:

• If the administrative review application is successful, the student must still declare the refusal on later applications but can explain that the refusal was an error on the part of the Home Office so it should not be used to refuse future applications
• The refused applicant in the UK who has section 3C leave and who applies by the relevant deadline remains lawfully in the UK during the administrative review process
• If you choose not to apply, you will have a refusal on your immigration record and must declare the refusal in any future visa applications (both for the UK or to other countries)

You’ll be told in your decision letter if you can ask for the decision on your visa application to be reviewed. This is known as an ‘administrative review’. You can only apply for an admin review if all of the following apply:

• You’re outside the UK
• You applied outside the UK
• Your application was refused

You must apply within 28 days of getting the decision. If you get the decision later than the date of the visa refusal, then the 28 days would start from the date the UKVI emailed you with the visa outcome notice.

The cost is £80. This should be refunded back to you if your admin review is successful.

You can apply online for an administrative review.

How long does it take for a decision?

As of August 2026, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review. If you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months, the Home Office will contact you with an update. Your rights are not affected by the delay in processing applications.

You cannot request a second review (unless the result of the first review found new reasons why you were refused). Your decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.

Can I withdraw my request later?

Your request for an admin review will be withdrawn (cancelled) by the UKVI if you make another immigration or visa application.

Your request will be rejected if you ask for a review of a previous decision after submitting a new application.

You can email the Home Office and ask for your request to be withdrawn. Your application fee will not be refunded.

You must include your name, date of birth, nationality and your Global Web Form (GWF) reference number. Your GWF reference number was given to you when you first applied. You can find it on emails and letters from the Home Office about your application.

You’ll be told in your decision letter if you can apply for an admin review. You must apply for an administrative review within 14 days of getting the decision. If you get the decision later than the date of the visa refusal, then the 14 days would start from the date the UKVI emailed you with the visa outcome notice. You need to apply online for an admin review. The cost is £80. This should be refunded back to you if your admin review is successful.

How long does it take for a decision?

As of August 2026, it can take 12 months or more to receive the result of the administrative review. If you do not get a decision on your application within 6 months, the Home Office will contact you with an update. Your rights are not affected by the delay in processing applications.

You cannot request a second review (unless the first review found new reasons why the original refusal was correct). Your decision letter will tell you if you can apply for a second review.

If your visa has expired, you will not usually be removed from the UK until your review has been completed.

Can I withdraw my request later?

Your request for an administrative review will be withdrawn (cancelled) if you:

• Make any other immigration or visa application
• Ask for your passport back so you can travel
• Leave the UK

Your request will be rejected if you ask for a review of a previous decision after submitting a new application.

You can email the Home Office and ask for your request to be withdrawn. Your application fee will not be refunded.

You must include your name, date of birth, nationality and either your administrative review payment reference number or Home Office reference number in your email.

• The administrative review succeeds. This means that the original decision is withdrawn and reconsidered.
• The administrative review does not succeed and the original decision remains in force.
• The administrative review does not succeed and the original decision remains in force but one or more of the reasons given for the decision are withdrawn.
• The administrative review does not succeed and the original decision remains in force, but with different or additional reasons to those given when the decision was first made.

You will be informed of the administrative review outcome in a letter. If successful, you will be told what to do next to receive your new immigration permission, or to have your permission amended. The administrative review application fee will be refunded.

If the original decision is upheld for all or some of the reasons, the only possible further challenge is through judicial review. No further administrative review applications are available. Leave extended by virtue of section 3C, if applicable, comes to an end at the end of this process as judicial review does not extend it.

If the administrative review is unsuccessful but for different or additional reasons to those cited in the original decision, paragraph AR 2.8 of Appendix AR of the immigration Rules provides that further applications for administrative review are possible.

Applicants who feel that the administrative review was not handled correctly can complain using the Home Office complaints procedure.

A refusal due to credibility or for not being a ‘genuine student’ is likely to have a detrimental impact on any Student visa application you may make in the future. The UKVI policy guidance allows caseworkers potentially to automatically refuse a student visa applicant where they have been refused previously due to credibility concerns. DMU is unlikely to issue you with a new CAS in the future if you are refused due to credibility under Appendix Student Paragraph ST 5.1, unless you are able to successfully overturn the refusal through admin review.

We would therefore strongly advise students to submit an admin review against a credibility refusal.

In order to challenge a credibility refusal, requesting access to the transcripts held by the Home Office is an important step in deciding whether or how to proceed with challenging the decision through admin review. You can request a copy of the transcript.

If you are successful in overturning this visa refusal, then please let us know by emailing visaadvice@dmu.ac.uk so that we can advise you on the next steps.