It is rewarding to complete a UK visa application yourself and receive a successful outcome. However, what happens if your UK visa application is rejected? What is the best way forward in the circumstances?

I always encourage my clients to hire a regulated professional to help you with your UK visa application as it may help you eliminate the chances of being rejected. 

As an ultra and high net worth individual, you need to take a step even further and ensure that you are dealing with an UHNWI expert to help you not only with UK immigration, but UK tax and global wealth concerns as you move to live in the UK. There are a number of different steps that need to be taken and carefully executed before you move permanently to the UK.

You received a rejection letter – what are your next steps?

As you receive a Home Office letter rejecting your UK visa application, your first step is to read it carefully. This is what you need to be looking out for:

Submitting a new application  

It should be noted that certain UK immigration categories allow only this course of action. For instance, most applications submitted from overseas when rejected the next step is to submit a new UK immigration application.

At this stage, it is better to hire a regulated professional to help you to submit a new application. Most likely, some serious mistakes were made that have contributed to the negative outcome.

You also need to be aware that a negative outcome (the rejection letter)  has also damaged your UK immigration record and needs to be corrected. Depending on the gravity of mistakes made, your personal circumstances and the reasons for rejection, this can involve substantial work on your UK immigration application to be successful.

Appealing the Home Office decision

Appeal is a judicial process. This means that you need a Level 3 OISC regulated adviser to help you to submit and represent you during the appeal. Alternatively, you can instruct a public access barrister to keep your costs down.

Depending whether you are in the UK or outside the UK at the time you receive your rejection letter, you may have fewer days to appeal. If you are in the UK, the appeal needs to be submitted within 14 days from the date of the letter of rejection. If you are outside the UK, then you have 28 days from the date of the letter rejecting your application.

It needs to be outlined that submitting an appeal is a demanding, emotional and expensive process. Therefore, you need to make sure that your application is well evidenced. The mandatory documents are not missing and the information provided is correct. Therefore, submitting a new application, which ensures that now everything is in place, may be a suitable step instead.

However, in certain circumstances if the application is made inside the UK, you may have no other options than to appeal the negative decision in order to continue to live legally in the UK.

Applying for an Administrative Review

Administrative review is an administrative procedure. As you apply for an administrative review for your refused UK immigration application, you are effectively telling the decision-maker that the relevant evidence was either missed or ignored. You are telling that a decision-maker made a mistake and the decision needs to be reviewed.

The administrative review is usually undertaken by a different decision-maker. The task of this decision-maker is to check your application and determine whether relevant evidence was indeed missed or ignored.

Therefore, you will need to apply for the administrative review if you are certain that your UK immigration application was well prepared and crucial evidence was missed or ignored.

Sometimes you may need to apply for an administrative review in order to extend your deadlines as you undertake the necessary next steps. In all circumstances, it is best to seek advice from a regulated UK immigration adviser to ensure that you undertake the best possible next step for you.

Find a regulated UK immigration adviser to help you

As you receive a Home Office letter rejecting your application, your best next step is to find a regulated UK immigration adviser to help you.

Based on your circumstances and the information contained in the letter rejecting your application, your UK immigration adviser is best suited to:

• • Advise you on the next best steps for you;
  • Explain why your application was rejected and what is wrong with it;
  • Advise you on the deadlines and the process;
  • Help you with a new application, appeal or administrative review;
  • Eliminate the chances of being rejected again;
  • Rectify your UK immigration record;
  • Represent you before UK immigration authorities;
  • Give you alternatives to the choices available to you.

As I work with my clients, some of the main reasons of rejection I see:

• • Applying for the wrong UK immigration category;
  • Applying on the wrong grounds and legal basis;
  • Misunderstanding and misinterpreting the legal requirements;
  • Not submitting the required documents or evidence;
  • Submitting irrelevant documents or evidence.

I often explain even to my British clients that submitting a successful UK immigration application is not the matter of commanding good English, but it is the matter of understanding the legal requirements and submitting correct documents and evidence.

It is ok to feel at a loss when you attempt to submit your UK immigration application yourself. Experienced UK immigration lawyers have outlined that the legal texts are confusing and not sufficiently clear and certain aspects of the UK immigration law require a legal reform. 

It is important to understand that you are not alone on your journey and there are trained, experienced and regulated professionals available to assist you. I encourage you to work with such professionals every time you submit your UK immigration application. Even if it is for the peace of mind and minimise the chances of your UK immigration application being rejected.

 Book a call with me, to help you with your UK immigration application or any UK relocation concerns as an ultra high net worth individual.

Submit your UK immigration enquiry here if you need assistance with any UK immigration application.

Book a call with me to discuss your Global Wealth Strategy and necessary onshore and offshore legal arrangements to protect your global wealth. You may submit your enquiry here.

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Saule Voluckyte, M.A.E.S, LL.B, FAIA

I have been working exclusively with UHNWI in Mayfair, London since January 2008. I built specialist knowledge and expertise required to serve ultra high net worth individuals investing, operating and relocating to the UK or Switzerland.

Within the industry, I am the single adviser who is able to traverse the different areas of expertise and bring a comprehensive approach across: global structuring, UK immigration, international taxation and FOREX to develop their global wealth strategy, while they build, grow and expand their wealth worldwide.

Previous experience as one of the senior advisors for the government, made me a go-to person when delicate and uncomfortable scenarios involving heads of state need to be handled with care and preserve privacy.