Immigration Lawyer London for Visa Refusals
If the Home Office has refused your visa application, you should consult an Immigration Lawyer who specialises in visa refusals.
At OTS Solicitors, our Legal 500-recommended London immigration law firm can assist you in securing a visa.
Contact our specialist UK Immigration Lawyers for expert immigration legal advice on visa refusals.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, and Urdu/Punjabi.
Visa refusal statistics
There is a wealth of information available about visa applications and refusals if you know where to look. Here are two places to look:
- Monthly monitoring of entry clearance visa applications, January 2025 - GOV.UK
- Summary of latest statistics - GOV.UK
Statistics don’t mean much if you don’t know what you're looking for. It's also easy to be overwhelmed by figures and get sidetracked. You can't afford to do that if the Home Office has refused your visa application.
The headline statistic that means the most to visa applicants is that the UK has an average visa refusal rate of 15%.
You can then drill down on those figures to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in the likelihood of a Skilled Worker Visa application being refused compared to, for example, a Spouse Visa application, a Student Visa, or a Global Talent Visa application. However, even these Home Office immigration statistics may not help as you may not be comparing like with like. That’s because the statistics don’t reveal the difference in visa approval rate between those visa applicants who did not use an Immigration Solicitor, those who used a general solicitor or those who instructed a specialist Immigration Lawyer.
At OTS Solicitors, we strive to focus on the present rather than become overwhelmed by Home Office statistics. If you have received a visa refusal letter from the Home Office, you will also need to focus on your application rather than wasting time speculating about ‘why you.’
Time is crucial, as you have only a short window to decide whether to appeal the Home Office's refusal or take alternative action.
Changing your Immigration Solicitors
If your visa application has been refused, now may be the time to consider changing the immigration law firm you have instructed. People worry about changing Immigration Solicitors because:
- The timescales for appealing a Home Office refusal are tight.
- They worry a new Immigration Lawyer won't get up to speed in time.
- They don’t want to offend their old lawyer.
1 and 2 are legitimate concerns, but number 3 isn’t. Firstly, lawyers are professionals who understand that some clients may choose to change solicitors. Secondly, your needs should be prioritised over your lawyer’s feelings.
If you are thinking about changing your Immigration Solicitor because your visa application has been refused, you should:
- Read our article on changing your UK Immigration Solicitor.
- Consult with your new Immigration Lawyers to determine if they have the expertise and capacity to advise you on your visa appeal.
- Reflect on whether your Immigration Attorney initially warned you that the prospects of securing a visa were low and why.
Taking these three steps may help you decide whether to consult a new Immigration Lawyer.
Why was my visa application refused?
The reason for your visa refusal should be outlined in the letter from the Home Office telling you that your application wasn’t successful. The letter is a helpful starting point, but Immigration Appeal Lawyers categorise immigration refusals into three broad types:
- Wrong choice of visa application for your circumstances.
- Poor choice of supporting documents to accompany your visa application.
- Badly worded statement in support of your visa application.
What will a Visa Appeal Lawyer do?
Faced with a Home Office refusal letter, a Visa Appeal Lawyer will analyse:
- The reasons why your visa application was refused.
- Your visa application.
- Your appeal options.
- Your alternate visa options.
Sometimes, the reasons for a visa refusal are apparent. For example:
- Not providing sufficient documents to demonstrate that your sponsoring partner meets the minimum income threshold for the Spouse Visa financial requirement.
- Discrepancies between your job offer and the Certificate of Sponsorship for your Skilled Worker Visa.
- Lack of information about your ties to your home country when applying for a UK Visitor Visa.
- The visa application assumed that you did not have to prove your sponsoring partner met the accommodation requirement to sponsor you for an Unmarried Partner Visa, as your sponsor comfortably met the financial requirement for a Family Visa and, therefore, could afford suitable housing.
- You have a poor immigration record, as classified by the Home Office, and any reasons for this record were not addressed in your visa application.
- You applied for a visa where the criteria are hard to establish. For example, the Adult Dependent Relative Visa.
In other visa applications, it is not always clear why the Home Office refused the application or what you could have done differently in your circumstances. The role of your London Visa Appeal Solicitor is to determine the best course of action.
Can I appeal a visa refusal?
The letter from the Home Office, refusing your visa application, should inform you of your right to appeal the Home Office's immigration decision. If there is a right of appeal, it will be subject to strict time limits.
If you need immigration legal advice on appealing a visa refusal, you should speak to specialist UK Immigration Lawyers as soon as possible. They will need time to review the Home Office letter and your application and identify the best solution for you. Whether the solution is an appeal or a new application, the likelihood is that they will recommend providing additional documentation. That can be hard to achieve if you leave the appeal to the appeal deadline.
Alternatives to appealing a Home Office visa refusal
You may not want to appeal a Home Office decision to refuse your visa on grounds of cost or time. Alternatively, you may not have the right to appeal the visa refusal decision, as not all applications are eligible for appeal.
If you don’t want to appeal or don’t have the right to do so, you have three options:
- Apply for an administrative review
- Apply for the visa a second time
- Apply for a different type of UK visa
Your Visa Appeal Solicitors can advise you on whether an administrative review is likely to be successful. They will prepare the administrative review application on your behalf and submit it for you. While the Home Office is deciding the administrative review application, you are not classed as a visa overstayer.
Applying for the same visa on a second occasion will only be effective if you can resolve the reasons why your first application was refused. For example, your application for a Skilled Worker Visa may have been rejected because your sponsoring employer had their sponsor licence suspended by the Home Office. Your application for another Skilled Worker Visa is likely to be successful if the sponsoring employer has had their sponsor license reinstated or if you have received another offer of employment with an employer who holds a current sponsor license.
If you are interested in applying for a different type of UK visa, our expert Immigration Solicitors will look at all your potential visa options. For example, if your sponsoring partner does not meet the income threshold financial requirement for a Spouse Visa, do you meet the eligibility criteria for a Health and Care Worker Visa? This type of Work Visa would enable you to reunite with your husband or wife in the UK and could eventually lead to UK settlement.
Immigration Appeal Lawyers in London
At OTS Solicitors, we understand that a visa rejection letter can be a real blow, leaving you reeling. With plans in place, being told that you can't come to the UK is a significant disappointment. Our Legal 500-recommended Immigration Solicitors will review the refusal letter and your application. We will then offer comprehensive immigration legal advice on your best route to a UK visa.
UK Online Visa Refusal Lawyers in London
For visa refusal advice, contact London Immigration Lawyers at OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo and Urdu/Punjabi.
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