How to Withdraw my Visa Application

If you have submitted a visa application to enter or continue living in the UK, you may make a request to the Home Office for your application to be withdrawn at any time before a decision is made.

What are the implications of withdrawing my visa application?

Before you consider withdrawing your application, it is important to know what impact this could have on your immigration status. This depends on whether you are already in the UK or have submitted an application for entry clearance from overseas.

If you submitted an application from outside the UK, the Home Office will consider your withdrawal request and either accept or refuse the request. If you request is accepted, you must make another application.

If you submitted an application from inside the UK, and you still have permission to stay under your existing visa, the Home Office will either continue your permission or cancel it - depending on if there has been a change of circumstances since your original visa was granted. If your permission is continued, you will be able to stay in the UK until the expiry date stated on your eVisa.

If your submitted an application from inside the UK, and your permission to stay under your existing visa has now expired, your permission to stay will no longer be active and will be deemed to end on the date your application is withdrawn. You should seek appropriate advice if you find yourself in this situation.

It is important to note that you cannot have more than one form of entry clearance or permission to stay at the same time. For example, a person cannot have a valid visitor visa and student visa at the same time. If they applied for and were granted permission as a student, their visitor visa will no longer be active.

Reasons for withdrawing a visa application

There are several reasons why you make consider withdrawing your visa application. The two most common reasons in our experience are mistakes and changes in circumstances.

Mistake on application form

You may be concerned to discover a mistake on your application form after it has been submitted. If this is the case, you should not rush to withdraw your application. There is a categorical difference between what the Home Office considers a minor error or "innocent mistake" and what may be considered false representations. For instance, spelling and numerical errors will be treated differently to information which is contradictory or failure to disclose important information such as marriage/divorce details, previous visa refusals, or relevant criminal convictions.

Change in circumstances

If your circumstances have changed since submission of your visa application, it may be necessary to declare further information - such as criminal record details - or withdraw your application altogether due to a change in your travel or employment plans.

How to request a withdrawal of your visa application

If you are certain you want to make a request to withdraw your application, you can do so by notifying the Home Office by email, post, or submission of the designated online form. If you submitted your application in the UK using your UKVI account, you can request withdrawal from your account dashboard.

Will my request to withdraw my application be accepted?

Each request to withdraw a visa application will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The Home Office will normally withdraw your application unless it has reason to suspect that the application involved deception or the reason the withdrawal request was made is to avoid adverse immigration or legal consequences.

It is important to note that a withdrawal request cannot be cancelled once submitted to the Home Office.

Can the Home Office unilaterally withdraw my application?

If you submitted your application from within the UK, the Home Office will automatically consider your application withdrawn if, without prior notification, you leave the Common Travel Area (CTA) before a decision has been made. The only exception to this rule is where your application is for naturalisation or settled or pre-settled status under EUSS.

Will I receive a refund?

Your eligibility and the amount you are entitled to receive will depend entirely on the timing of your withdrawal request. If you have not yet attended your biometrics appointment at a designated visa application centre, you should receive a full refund of your application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge. If you have already attended your appointment, you should receive a refund of the Immigration Health Surcharge only. You can read more about refund requests here.

I paid for priority or super priority service

If you paid an additional fee for the priority or super priority processing service, and you have not yet attended your biometrics appointment, you can make a separate request for a full refund of this fee by sending a written refund request to: ukvi.visa.pvspv.customerrefundrequests@homeoffice.gov.uk

If you have received notification from the Home Office that your application has been considered not straightforward, complex, or there are other factors which will delay processing, you will not be eligible for a refund unless the email explaining this delay was sent to you after the time by which you would have otherwise received a decision. In other words, after the 1 or 5 working day period.

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If you are thinking about withdrawing your application and are not sure if it's necessary, contact us today for a discussion about your circumstances.