Guidance

Endorsement review guidance

Published 21 August 2020

An endorsement review is used for reviewing unsuccessful stage 1 endorsement decisions made under Global Talent, where an applicant believes an error has been made in the decision. The endorsement review is only available for a Global Talent endorsement application. It is free of charge.

An endorsement review request must be made within 28 calendar days from the date the Home Office sends you the refusal email.

The endorsement review is a non-statutory scheme; there is no legislation setting out what it covers or who is eligible to apply. The entirety of the policy is contained within this guidance. You must fully read this guidance before deciding whether submitting an endorsement review request is appropriate in your circumstances.

Who can apply for an endorsement review

If you have been refused an endorsement under the Global Talent category, and believe an incorrect decision has been made on your case, for example a piece of evidence you supplied appears not to have been considered, you can apply to the Home Office for an endorsement review.

If an endorsement review request refers to matters outside the scope of an endorsement review

Where this occurs, the matters should be dealt with under the normal Home Office complaints procedure. In such cases, you will be advised in writing.

Who conducts the endorsement review

Once a request for an endorsement review is received, the Home Office will forward this to the relevant endorsing body that considered your original application. The Home Office will provide a response following this consultation, setting out the decision from the endorsing body.

How to apply for an endorsement review

Applicants should apply using the endorsement review request form on GOV.UK

The deadline for applying for endorsement review

You have 28 calendar days from the date of receipt of the refusal email, to submit your request for endorsement review.

If your application is submitted late

Where an endorsement review request is received outside the 28 calendar-day period, the Home Office will consider if there are exceptional circumstances to accept the application outside of the deadline.

If the endorsement review request is late and the endorsement reviewer decides not to perform the endorsement review, the Home Office will email you with an explanation of why it is not being accepted.

How many times you can request an endorsement review

You may request only one endorsement review per refusal decision. Any further review requests received for the same refusal decision will not be accepted. They will be returned to you.

If you have new or further information, documents or other paperwork that you failed to submit with your original application, you will need to make a new application and pay the appropriate fee.

How long the endorsement review will take

The review will be completed, and you will be notified in writing of the decision within 28 calendar days from the date of receipt of the endorsement review request form.

If, in exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to complete the review within the 28 calendar days, the Home Office will notify you in writing as to when to expect a decision.

An endorsement review will not extend your immigration leave while a decision is being made. This is because your endorsement application is not a valid leave application for immigration purposes. This means that if you are already inside the UK and your leave is expiring while your endorsement review is under consideration, you will be considered to be overstaying in the UK.

What the endorsement reviewer looks at

The Home Office will only examine the original application to confirm that the correct procedures were followed when deciding your application. You must not resubmit information and you are not able to provide new evidence as part of the review.

Any new evidence you submit will be returned to you together with the outcome of the endorsement review.

If you believe your application would be successful were you were to submit additional evidence, you should submit a new stage 1 endorsement application with the appropriate fee for consideration.

How endorsement review decisions are made

The Home Office will focus on the areas which you have asked to be reviewed. They will check that documents have been correctly passed on to the endorsing body, and that the correct processes have been used.

The endorsement reviewer may recommend that the refusal should be reconsidered if they find that the Home Office:

• failed properly to pass on evidence submitted with the original application
• made a mistake in processing the application
• failed to pass on correctly the reasons for refusing the endorsement

In this case, the endorsement reviewer will recommend serving a new refusal letter giving a full explanation for the refusal.

Where the endorsement reviewer recommends in line with the above, that the reasons for refusal are incorrect, you may still be refused but with new grounds for refusal.

The endorsement reviewer will not recommend that the original decision is overturned simply because you claim there is a fault with the Home Office’s underlying processes or policies.

How you will be informed of the result of the endorsement review

If the decision is upheld and the reasons for refusal remain the same:

• the Home Office will notify you by email. You will not be entitled to a further endorsement review as the grounds for refusal has not changed

If the decision is upheld, but with revised reasons for refusal:

• a new refusal letter will be served along with the endorsement review letter from the endorsement reviewer stating why the refusal has still been upheld. If there are fresh reasons for refusal which were not notified originally, you will be able to submit a further endorsement review request limited to those fresh reasons

If the decision is overturned and the endorsement is issued the Home Office will notify you by email.