Visa refused in Edinburgh
Understand your letter, your three options, and book a consultation with a qualified Edinburgh immigration solicitor within 24 hours.
You've been refused. The letter sets out the reasons, the deadline, and what your options are, but in the order that's least useful to you. This page reorganises it.
What we offer is a consultation with a qualified immigration solicitor, normally within 24 hours of booking. £175 including VAT, 30 minutes, at our Edinburgh office or by video. After the call you'll know which of your options fits, what the next step costs as a fixed fee, and how to act before the clock runs out. The rest of this page is so the call is as useful as possible.
Read the letter in the right order
Refusal letters are structured the same way no matter which route you applied under. Reading them in the right order saves time.
The decision and the date it was sent. The date that matters is on the letter itself, not on the envelope. Write it down.
The reasons. The caseworker's narrative of why the application was refused. The case sits here, and any errors live here too.
The rights of review or appeal, with the deadline. Most people skim past this on the first read. Go back and read it again. Write the deadline on the front of the letter in pen.
If anything in the letter doesn't match what you actually sent (the wrong financial year, missing documents listed as not provided when you did provide them, the wrong sponsor name), highlight it. That's often the centre of a strong challenge.
Your three options
Most refused applicants in Edinburgh have one of three routes open.
Appeal
Where the refusal carries a right of appeal, lodged at the First-tier Tribunal within 14 calendar days in-country, 28 out-of-country. Human rights claims, asylum, EUSS, deportation, deprivation. New evidence is allowed at appeal in most categories.
Administrative review
For most points-based refusals. Skilled Worker, Health and Care, Student, Graduate, some Global Talent. Internal to the Home Office, no new evidence in most cases, deadline usually 14 to 28 days.
Fresh application
Sometimes the cleanest fix. When the refusal was based on missing evidence you can now supply, or when something small has changed, a reapplication often wins where review or appeal wouldn't.
A fourth, narrower option is judicial review of the Home Office's decision, usually starting with a pre-action protocol letter. Reserved for decisions that are unlawful or procedurally flawed and have no other remedy.
The consultation tells you which one fits.
Why the clock matters
If your original application was made in time, Section 3C leave protected your status while the Home Office decided. Once they refuse, Section 3C continues to run while you have an in-time appeal or admin review pending, but only if you lodge in time.
Miss the deadline and Section 3C ends with the refusal. You become an overstayer. The right to work and right to rent end. Future applications get harder, sometimes by years.
The day the decision was sent is day zero, not the day you opened the email.
Common refusal reasons we see in Edinburgh
Almost every refusal letter falls into one of these patterns. Recognising yours speeds up the consultation.
Skilled Worker and Health and Care
Below-threshold salary against the SOC code rate. Sponsor licence problems, including sponsors recently put under Home Office review. Maintenance funds not evidenced for 28 days. SOC code mismatch with the role actually being done. English language route not accepted. Edinburgh tech and finance employers often have complex compensation structures, with bonuses, equity and share-based pay that the Home Office doesn't always accept as base salary.
Spouse, partner and family routes
Genuineness of the relationship. The financial requirement (currently £29,000 minimum gross income from April 2024 for new applicants). Accommodation evidence. English language test validity. Supporting evidence quality.
Student
CAS issues. Maintenance funds. Previous visa history. ATAS where the course requires it.
ILR
Continuous residence calculation. Absences over 180 days in any 12-month period. Good character points. Life in the UK Test result not on the system. English language evidence outdated.
EUSS
Late application reasonable grounds not accepted. Evidence of residence not strong enough.
Asylum
Credibility findings. Country guidance application. Failure to consider key parts of the account.
Each pattern has a typical fix. The consultation tells you what yours is.
The packages that follow a refusal
After the consultation, where you want us to handle the next step. Every package fee includes VAT and is per person:
First-tier Tribunal Appeal – £1,999
Appeal representation covering the work listed in the package. First-tier Tribunal Appeal package.
Pre-action Protocol for Judicial Review – £599
The formal challenge letter that often gets a flawed decision withdrawn. PAP for Judicial Review package.
Skilled Worker Visa – £1,499
For fresh sponsored work applications. Skilled Worker Visa package.
UK Family Visas – £1,449
For fresh spouse, partner and family applications. UK Family Visas package.
Indefinite Leave to Remain – £1,449
For fresh ILR applications after a refused first attempt. ILR package.
Fee Waiver Package – £840
Where the Home Office filing fee and Immigration Health Surcharge aren't affordable. Fee Waiver package.
Home Office filing fees are paid directly to the Home Office.
What to have ready for the consultation
The refusal letter, all pages.
The original application as you submitted it. If you applied yourself, the confirmation email from UKVI usually has the key reference numbers.
Supporting documents you sent with the original application.
Your passport and BRP if you have one.
Anything that has changed since you applied. New employer letters, new payslips, new evidence of relationship, medical letters, anything dated after the application.
If you used a previous adviser, their written scope of work if you have one. Where their advice was wrong or incomplete, that's relevant to any late-application argument.
How to book
Pick a slot in the Calendly link.
If you can't find a slot that works, email info@abimmigrationlaw.co.uk and we'll find one. Phone is 0141 237 3137. Background on our Edinburgh team is on the Edinburgh immigration lawyer page.
Refusals look worse the moment you read them than they do once a solicitor has read them with you. Most are fixable with the right route and the right preparation. Book the call.
Common questions
My refusal says I can't appeal. Is that always right?
Usually yes, but check carefully. The right of appeal depends on what was claimed in the application, not just the route name. Sometimes a human-rights element was made and the refusal letter didn't address it. The consultation looks for that.
Can I reapply straight away after a refusal?
Usually yes, but timing matters. A reapplication with the same evidence and a slightly different cover letter rarely succeeds. The consultation tells you what's worth adding before you reapply.
My Skilled Worker visa was refused on salary. The bonus and equity weren't counted. Is that fixable?
Sometimes, depending on how the contract is structured. The Home Office is strict on what counts as "base salary" for Skilled Worker purposes. The consultation tells you whether the structure can be defended on the same facts or whether the role and contract need to be restructured first.
Will a refusal affect future applications?
It depends on the reason. Refusals on suitability grounds (deception, criminality, breach of conditions) have long tails. Refusals on evidence usually don't. The consultation tells you which yours is.
Can I work while my appeal or review is pending?
If you applied in time and the appeal or review was lodged in time, yes, under the same conditions as your previous visa. If you applied late, no.
Do you do legal aid?
No, we work on fixed-fee packages.