Immigration Corner | How to apply for a reconsideration request

Dear Mr Bassie,

Please tell me under what circumstances I can make a reconsideration request with respect to an immigration application.

Thanks in advance.

CM

Dear CM,

Persons may be able to ask for the decision on their visa or immigration application to be reviewed if they made an application while in the United Kingdom.

This is known as a ‘reconsideration request’, and it is not a formal appeal or an administrative review. Persons cannot ask for a reconsideration if they have a right to an appeal or a review.

WHEN PERSONS CAN MAKE A RECONSIDERATION REQUEST

Persons can make a reconsideration request if they believe immigration rules or policies were not followed correctly when the decision was made. Those persons must be in the United Kingdom to make the request. They can only make a request if they applied in the United Kingdom to:

• Transfer their visa to a biometric residence permit – known as a ‘transfer of conditions’ (TOC)

• Transfer their indefinite leave to remain to a biometric residence permit – known as ‘no time limit’ (NTL)

• Extend their leave, switch their visa, or settle in the United Kingdom

Persons can make a request if their applications for TOC, NTL, or leave to remain was successful but they believe the type or the expiry date of the leave is wrong.

They can also make a request if the TOC or NTL application was refused and if they have any of the following:

• New evidence about the date of the application

• New evidence to prove that their documents were authentic

• Evidence that information received by United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) before the decision date was not available to the team that made the decision

These are the only kinds of new evidence that persons can use. Persons cannot make a request if it relates to any other sort of new evidence that was not received by UKVI before the decision date.

Applicants are advised to read the guidance on reconsidering visa or immigration decisions and use the information in the decision or refusal letter to decide if a request can be made.

WHEN PERSONS CANNOT MAKE A RECONSIDERATION REQUEST

Persons will not be able to make a reconsideration request if they have a right of appeal or right to an administrative review against the decision.

Please be aware that the decision letter will usually tell persons if they have either of these rights.

WHEN A REQUEST WILL BE REJECTED

Persons’ reconsideration request will be rejected if they:

• Make a new application before or after they send the request

• Have since been given permission to stay in another visa category

• Left the United Kingdom and their permission to stay has expired

• Were removed or deported from there

• Have already exhausted their appeal rights or lost their case in a judicial review

• Need to make an appeal or apply for an administrative review instead of making a reconsideration request

HOW TO MAKE A REQUEST

Persons should write a letter stating why they think the decision was wrong. They should refer to the rules or policy under which they applied – check the guidance online for their application to find the right rules or policies.

They should then send the request to the team that made the decision on the original application – the address will be shown on the decision letter.

Please note that persons must make their request as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after they receive the decision on their application. Please be reminded that only one reconsideration request is allowed.

LEGACY REQUESTS

Just for completeness, please be informed that any request made before November 13, 2012, (known as a ‘legacy request’) and the immigration status is still not resolved, then that request will still be considered as long as the applicant meets the guidance requirements.

Good luck!

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, deputy global president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com