You may get an ILR application-fee refund if you withdraw at the refundable stage; a refusal after consideration does not refund the fee. For an appointment-based application, the usual cutoff is before fingerprints and a photo are provided. For the ID Check app, withdraw before both confirm and upload and your evidence deadline.
If UKVI rejects the application as invalid, a fee over £30 is normally returned minus a £30 administrative charge. For a £3,226 application fee, that means £3,196. This is different from a refusal. Priority and Super Priority payments have separate refund rules.
Refund milestones and fee figures checked on 3 October 2026. Check your permission before withdrawing: cancellation cannot be stopped once UKVI receives it and may end permission extended under Section 3C. ILR Calculator UK is independent of the Home Office and provides general information, not legal advice or a decision on your immigration status.
The refund result depends on the exact outcome
The current in-country ILR fee is £3,226 for each applicant for applications made from 8 April 2026. The same Home Office fee table lists a £30 charge for processing an application that is later rejected as invalid.
| What happened | Was the ILR application considered? | Likely application-fee result | First fact to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| You withdrew before in-person biometrics | Usually no substantive consideration yet | Normally refunded | Whether fingerprints and photo had been provided |
You used the ID Check app and withdrew before confirm and upload, within the evidence deadline |
Usually no substantive consideration yet | Normally refunded | The app milestone and written deadline |
You withdrew after biometrics or after confirm and upload |
Processing can continue or have begun | Normally not refunded | The exact date and stage of withdrawal |
| UKVI rejected the application as invalid | No merits decision | Fee over £30 refunded minus £30 | The wording of the invalidity notice |
| UKVI refused the application | Yes | Not refunded | The refusal decision and any review or appeal route |
| UKVI treated the application as void | It could not legally proceed | Full fee refunded under the policy | Why the application was voided |
“Rejected” and “refused” are not interchangeable. Read the notice rather than relying on an email subject line, a call-centre description or an adviser’s shorthand.
If you want to withdraw before a decision
You can ask to withdraw only while the application is still awaiting a decision. The official cancellation process also warns that cancellation cannot be stopped once UKVI receives it and that a person in the UK may lose permission to stay. That status warning needs attention before the refund calculation.
The refund milestone depends on how UKVI told you to prove your identity.
Appointment route
If you were told to attend an appointment, the public guidance says the application fee is refundable when you withdraw before providing fingerprints and a photo. It is not usually refundable after those biometrics have been provided.
Use this route even if UKVI later said that a new appointment was unnecessary because it already held fingerprints and allowed a photo to be sent electronically. Do not substitute your own idea of when “processing” began for the identity route stated in the application instructions.
UK Immigration: ID Check app route
For an app-based application, the decisive step is not simply opening or completing the identity scan. The fee is refundable when both conditions are met:
- you have not selected
confirm and upload, whether to upload evidence or confirm that there is no evidence to upload; and - UKVI receives the withdrawal before the evidence-upload deadline it gave you.
After confirm and upload, or after the deadline has passed and the application proceeds for consideration, a voluntary withdrawal is not normally refundable. The public refund instructions set out both identity paths and say an eligible application-fee refund is returned automatically to the account or card used for payment.
An invalid rejection is different from a refusal
An invalid application has not passed the requirements needed to be treated as a valid application. Examples can include an unresolved fee, form, identity or route-specific validity problem. UKVI guidance says applicants may sometimes receive a chance to correct an omission before invalidity is confirmed, so the notice and any stated deadline matter.
If the application is rejected as invalid, it is not considered on its merits. The current Home Office refunds policy says that, where more than £30 was paid, the application fee must be returned minus the £30 administration charge. For a £3,226 ILR fee, that policy points to £3,196 being returned, provided the notice truly records an invalid application rather than a refusal.
A refusal means UKVI considered the application and decided that the relevant requirements were not met. The same policy says the application fee is not refunded after refusal. Paying the fee buys consideration of the application; it does not buy a successful result.
Void and varied applications follow different rules
A void application is one that cannot legally be considered, for example because the person already holds a status that makes the application inappropriate. The refund policy says a void application receives a full application-fee refund. This is a Home Office classification, not a label an applicant can choose to obtain a refund.
A later in-country application can sometimes vary an earlier undecided application. Where the variation rules apply and both applications were made online, the earlier fee is refunded. However, a second form is not automatically a safe variation. The route, timing, any existing Section 3C leave, and whether a decision has already been made can change the result. The current validation, variation and withdrawal guidance explains why the immigration position must be checked before cancelling or submitting again.
Priority, Super Priority and private service fees
Keep separate records for every amount paid. A single checkout can lead to different refund answers.
| Payment | What the Home Office policy indicates |
|---|---|
| ILR application fee | Follows the withdrawal, invalidity, refusal, void or variation rules above |
| Priority or Super Priority fee | Fully refundable when a refundable withdrawal, invalidity or voiding applies; not refundable after a non-refundable withdrawal or refusal |
| Faster service that missed its published target | A refund may be available where an otherwise straightforward application missed the target because of official error; exclusions apply for non-straightforward cases or missing information |
| UKVCAS appointment, scanning or other commercial extras | Outside the Home Office application-fee refunds policy; check the provider’s terms and cancellation record |
| Solicitor or adviser fee | Controlled by the retainer and the provider’s terms, not by the Home Office refund table |
The dedicated Priority and Super Priority refund guidance says a refund is automatic when you cancel before giving biometrics and applied in the UK. Other eligible cases may require a request. Check that guidance for your identity method and payment route rather than assuming that one refund transaction covers both fees.
Check these six points before cancelling
- Name the outcome you are trying to create. Withdrawal is not the same as correction, variation, invalidity or returning a passport.
- Record the identity stage. Save the appointment history or the app screen showing whether
confirm and uploadhas been selected, together with the evidence deadline. - Check current permission. If the previous grant has expired and the pending application is extending leave under Section 3C, withdrawal can end that leave.
- Read the route and application messages. A second application may vary an undecided one in some circumstances, but it may be a new or void application in others.
- Use the official withdrawal route. Keep the submission acknowledgement, application reference, payment reference and date received by UKVI.
- Separate payment records. Retain receipts for the application, Priority/Super Priority and any private appointment or advice service.
Do not ask the bank to reverse the UKVI payment as a shortcut. GOV.UK says a chargeback can delay the refund process, and no further refund is due if the bank has already cancelled the payment to UKVI.
When an eligible refund should arrive
The public guidance says an eligible application-fee or Priority-service refund should arrive within 4 weeks of cancellation. It normally goes back to the account or card used to pay. A replaced card does not necessarily mean the underlying account has disappeared, but a closed or changed account can delay the process.
If the refund is late, use the contact route linked from the GOV.UK refund page. Keep the withdrawal acknowledgement, payment reference, application reference, amount, date and original payment method ready. Do not send new bank details in response to an unsolicited message; GOV.UK tells applicants to provide them only when UKVI asks through a genuine channel.
An invalidity, voiding or variation refund may follow the notice and caseworking process rather than the voluntary-cancellation timetable. Use the wording and instructions in the decision or notice as the starting point, then escalate through the official contact route if the stated period passes.
The harder decision is whether withdrawal is safe for your status
Recovering £3,226 can be important, but it may not be the most urgent consequence. Home Office guidance says that when a valid in-time application is withdrawn after the person’s previous permission has expired, Section 3C leave ends on the withdrawal date. If the application was not valid, the status analysis can be different and may point back to the expiry date of the previous grant.
That creates a genuine decision boundary: an applicant with unexpired permission, a person relying on Section 3C leave, and someone considering a variation do not face the same risk. Before withdrawing because a document is wrong, a faster slot appeared or a different route looks better, confirm both the refund stage and the immigration-status effect. If the previous permission has expired or the correct route is unclear, obtain advice from a regulated immigration adviser before taking an irreversible step.
Frequently asked questions
Will I get my ILR fee back if I withdraw before biometrics?
Usually, yes, if UKVI told you to attend an appointment and receives the withdrawal before you provide fingerprints and a photo. The public guidance says the application fee is then refunded automatically to the original account or card. Check the actual identity route in your instructions, because a person later excused from a new appointment may still need to follow the appointment-based cancellation process. Confirm the effect on your permission before withdrawing.
What if I used the UK Immigration: ID Check app?
The app route uses a different milestone. The application fee is normally refundable if you have not selected confirm and upload and UKVI receives the withdrawal before the evidence deadline it gave you. Opening the app or scanning an identity document is not the whole test. After confirm and upload, or after the deadline passes and consideration proceeds, a voluntary withdrawal is not normally refundable. Save the relevant screen and deadline with your withdrawal record.
Is the ILR application fee refunded after refusal?
No. A refusal means the Home Office considered the application and decided that the route requirements were not met, so the application fee is not refunded. This is different from an invalid application, which is not considered on its merits. Read the decision carefully before paying for a fresh application: a review, appeal or new application may have different deadlines and status effects, and a second payment does not correct the first decision automatically.
How much is returned when an ILR application is invalid?
The current policy says an invalid application is not considered and a fee over £30 is refunded minus a £30 administration charge. With the £3,226 ILR fee effective from 8 April 2026, that points to £3,196 being returned. This arithmetic applies only where UKVI has actually rejected the application as invalid. A refusal after consideration, a voluntary withdrawal after the refund milestone, or a private service charge follows a different rule.
Can I recover the Priority or Super Priority fee?
It depends on the same outcome and on the reason the faster service was not delivered. The caseworker policy provides a full faster-service refund for a refundable withdrawal, invalid application or void application, but not for refusal or a withdrawal after the refundable stage. It also allows certain refunds when a straightforward case misses the published target because of official error. The dedicated faster-service refund guidance says in-UK cancellations before biometrics receive an automatic refund; other eligible cases may require a request. Follow the current instructions for your identity method and payment route.
What should I do if the refund has not arrived after four weeks?
Use the UKVI contact route linked from the official refund page and provide the application reference, payment reference, withdrawal acknowledgement, amount, date and original payment method. Check whether the card was replaced, the account was closed or a bank chargeback was raised, because each can complicate payment. Do not send bank details to an unsolicited address. The four-week statement applies to eligible application and Priority refunds after cancellation, not every invalidity, voiding or variation case.
