- Page Contents
- Overview
- When To Send A PAP letter?
- Purpose Of Pre Action Protocol (PAP)
- UKVI Response To Pre Action Protocol (PAP)
- Free Assessment Of UK Visa Refusal
- How Can We Help?
- Our Fixed Fees
You should submit a Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter to the Home Office UKVI before you issue the Judicial Review (JR) proceedings against the Home Office UKVI to challenge the refusal of a UK visa and immigration application. A pre-action protocol (PAP) letter is a letter written to the Home Office, UKVI in order to try and resolve a dispute concerning an immigration matter before Judicial Review (JR) proceedings are started against the Home Office UKVI. A Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letter may also be called a ’letter before claim’ or a ’letter before action’. All of these terms refer to the same thing.
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By sending a Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter to the Home Office UKVI, you put the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) on notice that you intend to file a Judicial Review against the Home Office UKVI decision to refuse the UK visa and immigration application and you give detailed grounds and reasons which render the decision of the Home Office UKVI unlawful. You give the Secretary of State 14 days notice to reconsider the refusal decision failing which you will issue the Judicial Review proceedings in the court.
You should send a pre-action protocol (PAP) letter to Home Office UKVI before filing an immigration Judicial Review (JR) in Court and ask the Home Office UKVI to reconsider its refusal decision within 14 days.
Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online or book an appointment online for a detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors for challenging the refusal of your UK visa and immigration application.
- Other Related Pages
- Challenge UK Visa Refusals
- Administrative Review Of UK Visa Refusal
- Judicial Review (JR) Against Home Office UKVI
- Immigration Appeals UK
When To Send A Pre Action Protocol (PAP) Letter?
You can challenge the unlawfulness of UK visa refusal by way of Pre Action Protocol (PAP) against the Home Office UKVI in one of the following circumstances:
- The refusal decision does not confirm your right to appeal or ask for Administrative Review (AR) of the refusal of your UK visa and immigration application;
- Your Administrative Review (AR) against the refusal of your UK visa and immigration application has been unsuccessful and you do not have right to appeal against the refusal;
- Your application for reconsideration of refusal of naturalisation as a British Citizen has been unsuccessful;
- The Home Office UKVI has failed or omitted to make a decision on your UK visa and immigration application in a reasonable timeframe and the delay in processing of the application can be challenged by way of Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter and Judicial Review (JR), particularly, if you are prejudiced and adversely affected by such delay or omission on part of the Home Office UKVI.
Purpose Of Pre-Action Protocol (PAP)
The purpose of pre-action protocol (PAP) letter is to identify the issues in dispute and establish whether litigation with the Home Office, UKVI can be avoided. The letter contains the date and details of the immigration decision (the refusal letter), act or omission of the Home Office UKVI being challenged and a clear summary of the facts on which the Judicial Review claim against the Home Office, UKVI is based. It also contains the details of any relevant information that the applicant is seeking from the Home Office, UKVI and an explanation of why this is considered relevant.
UKVI Response To Pre-Action Protocol (PAP)
Immigration Judicial Review (JR) proceedings against the UKVI are not normally issued until the proposed reply date given in the letter before claim has passed, unless the circumstances of the immigration case require more immediate action to be taken. Home Office UKVI, should normally respond to letter before action (pre-action protocol letter) within 14 days and Home Office UKVI may face cost implications for failure to respond to Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter unless there are good reasons for not responding within that period.
An application for permission to apply for Judicial Review can be filed in the Upper Tribunal or Administrative Court (High Court), as the case may be, if the Home Office, UKVI do not respond to the pre-action protocol letter within 14 days or the Home Office UKVI responds within 14 days but maintains their decision to refuse the UK visa and immigration application.
The protocol does not affect the time limit specified by CPR Part 54.5(1) namely that an application for permission to apply for Judicial Review (JR) must be made promptly and in any event not later than 3 months after the grounds upon which the claim is based first arose.
Free Assessment Of Refusal Of UK Visa and Immigration Application
Our free immigration advice solicitors and lawyers can assess your the refusal decision of your UK visa and immigration application free of cost to advise you whether or not you have any valid grounds to challenge the refusal of your UK visa and immigration application. If our specialist team of immigration solicitors and lawyers find that there are valid grounds to challenge the refusal of your UK visa, we will quote a fixed fee to provide legal representations for challenging the refusal of your UK visa and immigration application.
You can email the refusal letter of UK visa and immigration application to
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of UK immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations in your Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter for Judicial Review (JR) against the Home Office UKVI. The casework to be carried out by specialist team of immigration solicitors in relation to your Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter may entail the following:
- Assessment of refusal decision: Our immigration solicitors will assess the Home Office UKVI decision to identify the grounds which render the UKVI decision unlawful and not in accordance with relevant immigration laws;
- Advising you on the merits of your case: Our immigration lawyers will discuss the relevant grounds for challenging the UKVI refusal decision and advise you on the prospects of success in your matter. Our immigration solicitors will also advise you on the weaknesses and strengths of your immigration matter;
- Preparing the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter: Our specialist team of immigration solicitors will draft the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter arguing how the refusal decision of the UKVI is not in accordance with relevant immigration laws and therefore unlawful;
- Discussing the draft of Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter with you: Our immigration solicitors will discuss the draft of the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter with you before we submit the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter to the Home Office UKVI;
- Submitting the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter to UKVI: Our immigration solicitors and lawyers will submit the final version of the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) to the Home Office UKVI and liaise with them for a response to our Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter;
- Assessing the UKVI response to Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors and lawyers will assess the UKVI response to our Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter and discuss the same with you;
- Re-assessing the merits of the case: Our immigration solicitors and lawyers will re-assess the merits of the case upon receiving the UKVI response to find out whether you still have a good case to proceed with the Judicial Review (JR) proceedings if the UKVI have maintained their decision to refuse your UK visa and immigration application. Our immigration solicitors will then advise you on the merits of your case upon re-assessment of your case after re-assessing the case in the light of the UKVI response.
Our Fixed Fees For Challenging UK Visa Refusal Decisions
Our fixed fees for challenging UK visa refusals are as given in the fee tables below:
Fixed Fees For Administrative Review (AR) and Pre Action Protocol (PAP)
| Our Service | Our Fixed Fees Range |
| Full service for preparing and submitting an Administrative Review (AR) of the UK visa refusal decision to cover all the work until the decision by the Home Office UKVI on your Administrative Review (AR). | From £700 To £1,500 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for preparing and submitting a Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter against the Home Office, UKVI, to cover all the work until a decision by the Home Office UKVI on the Pre Action Protocol (PAP) letter. | From £800 To £1,500 + VAT, If Applicable |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of your immigration matter and the volume of casework involved in the matter. In addition to our fixed fee for the Administrative Review (AR), the applicant also has to pay the Home Office UKVI fees for the Administrative Review (AR). There is no fee charged by the UKVI for the Pre-Action Protocol (PAP).
No Win No Fee For Judicial Review (JR) Against The Home Office UKVI
- Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can act for your Judicial Review (JR) against the Home Office UKVI on no win, no fee, basis which means you will not have to pay our legal costs if you do not succeed in your Judicial Review and if we do succeed in the Judicial Review (JR) we will recover our legal costs from the Home Office UKVI.
- The no win no fee agreement does not cover disbursements or third-party costs, e.g. court fees and Barrister fees in relation to your Judicial Review proceedings, and you will have to pay such costs for us to prepare and issue the Judicial Review proceedings. If we recover our legal costs from the Home Office UKVI in the event of succeeding in Judicial Review proceedings, the disbursement which you would have paid would be refunded back to you as such disbursements will also be recovered from the Home Office UKVI. However, if we are not able to recover our legal costs from the Home Office UKVI, you will not be able to get the refund of the court fee and the Barrister's fees.
- Please note that we will only take on your case on a no-win, no-fee basis if we find good grounds to challenge the unlawful decision of the Home Office UKVI.
Fixed Fees For Immigration Appeal Against The UK Visa Refusal
Our fixed fees for various stages of the immigration appeal against the refusal of a UK visa are as given in the fee table below:
| Our Service | Our Fixed Fees Range |
| Full service for an appeal to the First Tier Tribunal against the refusal of an entry clearance application or in-country leave to remain application covering all our work until a decision by the Immigration Judge on your appeal or until the Home Office UKVI withdraws the refusal decision as a result of a review of the refusal decision. | From £2,000 To £4,000 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for an application to the First Tier Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of error or law made by the Immigration Judge in the appeal determination covering all our work until a decision by the First Tier Tribunal on your permission application. | From £800 To £1,500 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for an application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on a point of error or law made by the Immigration Judge in the appeal determination, covering all our work until the Upper Tribunal decides on your permission application. | From £800 To £1,500 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for Upper Tribunal error of law appeal hearing after grant of permission either by the First Tier Tribunal or by the Upper Tribunal, covering all our work until the Upper Tribunal's decision on the error of law appeal hearing. | From £800 To £1,500 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for an application to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on a point of error of law made by the Upper Tribunal Judge in an error of law hearing covering all our work until a decision by the Upper Tribunal on permission application. | From £1,500 To £3,000 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for an application to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on a point of error of law made by the Upper Tribunal Judge in an error of law hearing, covering all our work until the Court of Appeal decides on the permission application. | From £1,500 To £3,000 + VAT, If Applicable |
| Full service for appeal to the Court of Appeal after the grant of permission covering all our work until a decision by the Court of Appeal. | From £3,000 To £6,000 + VAT, If Applicable |
The agreed fixed fee will depend on the complexity of your immigration matter and the volume of casework involved in it. In addition to our fixed fee for appeal, you also have to pay third-party fees, e.g., court fees, and the Barrister's fee for the appeal hearing.
Book An Appointment With Our Immigration Solicitors
Using the links below, you can book an appointment online with our specialist immigration advice solicitors for detailed immigration advice and consultation concerning your UK visa and immigration matter:
Alternatively, you can call us on 020 3930 3900 or email at appointments@premiumsolicitors.co.uk to schedule an appointment with our specialist immigration solicitors and lawyers for immigration advice and consultation regarding your matter.