The Home Office's administrative review guidance, updated on 16 October 2026, says an application must not relate to decisions under Appendix EU, Appendix S2 Healthcare Visitor or Appendix Service Providers from Switzerland.
Key facts
- Who: People who have received a refusal or cancellation decision and are considering administrative review, including those whose decision was made under Appendix EU, Appendix EU (Family Permit), Appendix S2 Healthcare Visitor or Appendix Service Providers from Switzerland.
- From: Updated 16 October 2026
- Source: Administrative review: caseworker guidance
UK Visas and Immigration updated its guidance on administrative review on 16 October 2026. The guidance tells caseworkers how to validate, consider and decide applications for administrative review of decisions made under the Immigration Rules.
Administrative review considers whether an "eligible decision" is wrong because of a caseworking error and, if it is, corrects that error. The review is carried out by a different person from the one who made the original decision.
The validation section of the guidance says that, where paragraph AR 1.1 applies, an application for administrative review must relate to a decision on a specified route. It states in particular that an application must not relate to a decision taken under Appendix EU, Appendix EU (Family Permit), Appendix S2 Healthcare Visitor or Appendix Service Providers from Switzerland.
Administrative review is available for eligible decisions on the routes the guidance lists, which include Skilled Worker, Student, Graduate and Global Talent. The guidance also covers decisions to cancel permission at the border.
The time limits in the guidance are:
- 28 calendar days from receiving the decision notice for a refusal of entry clearance;
- 14 calendar days for a refusal of permission to stay, or 7 calendar days if the person is detained;
- 14 calendar days for a decision to cancel permission at the border, or 7 calendar days if the person is detained.
Where a border decision was made at the juxtaposed controls in Paris, Brussels, Dunkirk, Coquelles, Calais or Lille, the application must be made from overseas. In that case the time limit is 28 calendar days from receiving the decision notice.
The fee is £80. Applications made after the deadline must normally be rejected. The exception is where the Secretary of State is satisfied that it would be unjust not to waive the time limit and the application was made as soon as reasonably practicable.
A refusal notice, or the decision notice for a border cancellation, will tell the person whether they can apply for administrative review.
What this means for people considering administrative review
The guidance states that an administrative review application must not relate to a decision taken under Appendix EU, Appendix EU (Family Permit), Appendix S2 Healthcare Visitor or Appendix Service Providers from Switzerland.
Whether administrative review is available depends on the route and the decision made. The refusal or decision notice will say whether a person can apply, and the time limits above run from receipt of that notice.
Sources
- UK Visas and Immigration, Administrative review: caseworker guidance, updated 16 October 2026