On this page you will find the information listed below. You can use the quick links listed here to take you to the relevant information or you can scroll down the page.

• Making an appeal
• How long the appeals process takes
• Contact details - First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
• What happens if I win my appeal
• Administrative review
• Complaints about the refusal of a visa

Making an appeal

The reasons for refusing your application for a visa will be explained in the Notice of Immigration Decision that is sent to you. Certain categories of visa application, including family visits and settlement, attract full rights of appeal.

If you want to make an appeal you should send your completed appeal forms directly to 1 of the places listed below. Your appeal forms should be completed in English, and you should include your Notice of Immigration Decision and your Notice of Appeal form.

You should submit your documents for your appeal no later than 28 calendar days after you were served with the decision on your visa application.

You may send appeals to:

First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
PO Box 7866
Loughborough LE11 2XZ
United Kingdom
Fax: +44 (0) 1509 221 699

Or

UK Border Agency,
British Embassy
120 Upper McKinley Road
McKinley Town Center
Fort Bonifacio
Taguig City, 1634 Metro Manila

You must only send your appeal to 1 place - you should not send your appeal to both the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and the UK Border Agency. If you plan to send your appeal to the UK Border Agency, please check that your sponsor has not already made the appeal for you. If they have, you must not send the appeal to the UK Border Agency.

Note: If you decide to send your appeal to the UK Border Agency, there will be a delay before they are sent to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), as post is only sent to the UK once each week.

When the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) receives your appeal form, they will write to you to let you know the date and time of the hearing. You should then contact the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if you have any queries about your appeal.

Please see the appeals guidance on the UK Border Agency website for more information about the appeals process.

How long does the appeals process take?

The UK Border Agency has no control over when your appeal will be heard. It can take several months for a number of reasons. This can include the type of case (family visitor, settlement) and whether you have asked for the case to be heard orally, so your sponsor can give evidence. Visitor appeals are usually heard within 6 months of being made: for other categories, including settlement, it can take up to 9 months.

Contact details - First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)

Once you have submitted your appeal you should direct any queries about your appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). The address and contact details are given below.

What happens if I win my appeal?

Applications submitted in Taiwan are processed by the UK Border Agency at the British Embassy in Manila. The UK Border Agency in Manila will aim to process your case within 8 weeks from the date we receive official notification of the immigration judge's reasons for allowing your appeal (called the determination). We must receive official notification from the UK Border Agency in the UK before we can proceed with your case.

Please be aware that it can take 4 weeks or longer for the official notification from the UK to reach the UK Border Agency in Manila. If you have not heard from the UK Border Agency after 12 weeks from receiving your determination, please email us using the address given below.Please do not contact the UK Border Agency before this time.

Administrative Review

Points-based system review

A refusal under the points-based system does not attract a full right of appeal. All points-based system visa applicants can apply for an administrative review, which is a mechanism for reviewing refusal decisions.

How to make an administrative review

If the UK Border Agency refuses your visa application and you think that an error has been made, you can ask the UK Border Agency to check their decision. This is known as an administrative review. The administrative review is free of charge. You must ask for an administrative review within 28 days from the date you receive your Notice of Decision (GV51). Review requests received more than 28 days after the date you receive the decision will not normally be accepted.

The address of where to send your Administrative Review will be included in the documents the UK Border Agency sent to you when it refused your points-based visa application.

Administrative review request notice

You must complete the request notice in full and send it directly to the address stated on the request notice. You must not send any additional documents such as a passport, travel document or supporting documents with the administrative review request notice. If the refusal is subsequently overturned, you will be asked to send in your passport/travel document.

You can only request one administrative review - it cannot be reviewed again if the original decision on your application is upheld. Any further review requests for the same refusal decision will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

The administrative review should be completed within 28 days and you will be notified of the result in writing. The result of the review may be sent from a different UK Border Agency address to where the original decision was made, this is to ensure that the review is independent.

Complaints about refusal of a visa

VFS and the UK Border Agency will not provide you with any further information about the reasons for the refusal of your visa, other than what is stated in your Notice of Immigration Decision. If you have been refused a visa and you do not agree with reasons given on your Notice of Immigration Decision you have the following options:-

• Your rights of appeal will be explained in your Notice of Immigration Decision. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if you have told you have this right of appeal. Please see the 'Making an appeal' information on this page.
• If you have been refused a points-based system visa you can apply for an administrative review. Please see the Administrative Review information on this page.
• You can submit a new visa application. Before you reapply you should make sure you address the reasons given for your refusal and read all the relevant information on the visa category you are applying before deciding if you should reapply.
• You should not use our complaints procedure if you are unhappy about the decision to refuse your visa application. If you do make a complaint to the UK Border Agency may just repeat the reasons given on your Notice of Immigration Decision.