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Section 3C leave: your status while a decision is pending

If you apply to extend or change your UK leave before it expires, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends that leave on the same conditions until the application is decided, and while an appeal or administrative review is possible or pending. It does not apply to late or invalid applications, and it ends if you leave the UK.

People call it "3C leave", and it is the reason you can usually keep living, working and studying in the UK after your visa date has passed, as long as you applied in time. It is also easy to lose by accident. A late application, an invalid one, a second application made at the wrong time, or a trip abroad can each end it.

This page explains how section 3C works, using the wording of the Act (read on legislation.gov.uk on 9 October 2026) and the Home Office's "3C and 3D leave: caseworker guidance", version 12.0, published for staff in August 2023. Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules replaced Part 9 on 11 November 2025, so Home Office guidance written earlier may still use the old numbering. The explanation is general. It does not tell you what your status is.

What the law says

Section 3C(1) applies if three things are true:

(a) a person who has limited leave to enter or remain applies to the Secretary of State for variation of that leave, (b) the application is made before the leave expires, and (c) the leave expires without the application having been decided.

Under section 3C(2) the leave "is extended by virtue of this section" during any period when:

  • the application is neither decided nor withdrawn
  • an appeal under section 82(1) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 could be brought, while the appellant is in the United Kingdom, against the decision on the application (ignoring any possibility of an appeal out of time with permission)
  • such an appeal, brought while in the UK, is pending
  • an administrative review of the decision could be sought, or is pending

The Home Office guidance states the purpose plainly: it is "to prevent a person who makes an in-time application to extend their leave from becoming an overstayer while they are awaiting a decision on that application and while any appeal or administrative review they are entitled to is pending."

So 3C leave is not a new permission. It is your existing leave continuing, on the same conditions, for a longer time.

What the conditions are while you have 3C leave

The guidance says a person with section 3C leave "remains subject to the conditions attached to their extant leave". If your previous visa allowed work, you may continue to work as before. If it limited you to a particular job or number of hours, those limits continue. If it banned access to public funds, that ban continues.

Two consequences:

  • The Home Office can vary the conditions. The guidance says conditions can be varied during 3C leave in the same way as for anyone with leave, for example to impose reporting conditions.
  • Breaking a condition has an extra risk. Section 3C(3A) says 3C leave may be cancelled if the applicant has failed to comply with a condition attached to the leave, or has used deception in seeking leave to remain, whether successfully or not. The guidance says this is a discretionary power and that it cannot be used for any other reason. It gives examples: a student who worked more than the allowed hours, or someone who obtained public funds in breach of a ban. It says the failure to comply can have happened during the earlier period of leave, not only during 3C leave. Where the Home Office alleges a breach or deception, the guidance says the burden of proving it is on the Home Office, on the balance of probabilities.

Cancelling 3C leave takes effect immediately. The guidance says it cannot be used to give a shorter period such as 60 days.

When 3C leave does not start

The guidance is clear on what does not trigger section 3C.

  • A late application. "Section 3C does not extend leave where the application is made after the applicant's current leave has expired." If your leave ran out on 21 March and you applied on 22 March, you were an overstayer on the day you applied. The separate overstayer exceptions in the Immigration Rules, which can allow a short gap to be disregarded, are covered in our guide to overstaying.
  • An invalid application. The guidance says an invalid application does not extend leave under section 3C, citing the Supreme Court in Mirza and another [2016] UKSC 63. Common causes are missing mandatory documents, the wrong fee, and not providing biometrics.
  • A different kind of application. The guidance says an application for an EEA residence card is not an application to vary leave, so it does not give 3C leave.

The invalid-application rules have a safeguard. Where an application is received without the right fee or a mandatory item, the Home Office guidance on validation provides one chance to correct it, with 10 working days to respond. If it is then accepted as valid, it is treated as valid from the date it was first made, and 3C leave runs from the day after the previous leave expired. The guidance's own example: leave expires 21 March, an application is made that day with documents missing, the documents arrive on 28 March and the application is validated. Leave is extended by 3C from 22 March. If the documents never arrive and the application is rejected as invalid on 30 March, the person has been without leave since 22 March.

For biometrics, the guidance says the Supreme Court clarified that 3C leave ends when the Home Office serves a notice of invalidity for failing to provide them.

After a refusal: appeals and administrative review

If a decision refuses your application, section 3C continues to protect you for a limited time, but only if you had 3C leave from the in-time application and only for the remedy you actually have.

Administrative review. The guidance says 3C leave continues during any period when an administrative review could be sought or is pending. The deadlines for asking are 14 days if you are not detained and 7 days if you are detained. If you do not ask within the time limit, 3C leave ends at the end of the last day you could have applied. If you are entitled to ask for a review but did not already have 3C leave, the right to ask does not give you 3C leave. A review lodged out of time does not extend 3C leave; if it is accepted out of time, 3C leave runs from the decision to accept it.

Appeals. 3C leave continues while an in-country appeal could be brought and while it is pending. An appeal is pending until it is finally determined, withdrawn or abandoned. The guidance explains that where an onward appeal is possible, 3C leave runs until the onward time limits expire; for example a First-tier Tribunal decision can be appealed to the Upper Tribunal, and the guidance describes a further 14 days of 3C leave after the decision is received. It also says 3C leave does not apply during an appeal that can only be brought from outside the UK. Our guide to the First-tier Tribunal covers the appeals process itself.

Out-of-time appeals. 3C leave ends when the appeal time limit passes. If an appeal is lodged late and the tribunal then allows it to go ahead, the guidance, citing Akinola [2021] EWCA Civ 1308, says 3C leave comes back from the date the notice of appeal was lodged, not the date the extension was granted. If the tribunal refuses to extend time, it does not come back.

Not every refusal carries either remedy. Whether yours does depends on the route and the decision, and the decision letter should say. The guidance's rule of thumb is that 3C leave lasts only as long as one of the listed remedies is open or pending.

Making another application, and how it ends

Section 3C(4) says: "A person may not make an application for variation of his leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom while that leave is extended by this section." Section 3C(5) allows you to vary the application you have already made. The guidance's example: you apply to extend one route and, before it is decided, you apply under a family route. The second form amends the first, the higher fee must be paid, and the first application is no longer considered.

A fresh application during an administrative review has a different effect. The guidance says that if a fresh valid application is submitted while a review is pending, the review is no longer pending, because Appendix AR provides that the review ceases to be pending the day before the fresh application is made. 3C leave ends the day before. Its example: refusal on 20 April, fresh application on 30 April, 3C leave ends on 29 April, and the person does not have 3C leave while the fresh application is decided. A protection or human rights claim made during a review has the same effect of bringing the review to an end.

Section 3C leave ends in these circumstances, according to the Act and the guidance:

  • the application is decided and no remedy remains open (for example, the deadline for review passes)
  • the application is withdrawn
  • the appeal or review is finally determined, withdrawn or abandoned
  • you leave the UK. Section 3C(3) says the leave "shall lapse if the applicant leaves the United Kingdom". The GOV.UK pages for settlement applications such as long residence also say you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, or the application will be withdrawn and the fee is not refunded
  • the Home Office cancels it for breach of conditions or deception under section 3C(3A)
  • you are granted leave. The guidance says an appeal is treated as abandoned if the appellant is granted leave, and 3C leave ends at that point.

Where the Home Office withdraws a decision, the guidance says that if 3C leave had ended because of the decision, it "resurrects" from the date of withdrawal. There is still a gap between the decision and the withdrawal. The guidance says the gap should not disadvantage the person in later applications where leave is granted on reconsideration and the grant letter contains specific wording. If a court quashes a decision, it is as if the decision was never made and the person had 3C leave throughout.

Worked examples (illustrative)

These follow the guidance's own pattern. They are not predictions about any real case.

Example 1: an in-time application. Leave expires on 11 April. A valid application to extend is made on 10 April. Leave is extended by section 3C until the application is decided or withdrawn. If the decision is a refusal with an administrative review available, the 14-day review window then keeps 3C leave going, and a review request keeps it going until the review is decided.

Example 2: no review requested. A refusal with a right of administrative review is received. Fourteen days pass without a review request. 3C leave ended at the end of the 14th day. From the next day the person has no leave. The Immigration Rules allow a fresh application made within 14 days of the end of 3C leave, or of the time limit for review expiring, to have the gap disregarded under the overstayer exceptions, but that is an exception with conditions, not a right. See our overstaying guide.

Example 3: an application made one day late. Leave expired on 21 March. An application is made on 22 March. There is no 3C leave. Whether the gap can be disregarded is a matter for the overstayer exceptions, and the person has no right to work or rent while the application is pending.

Example 4: a trip abroad. A person with 3C leave and a pending application travels abroad. The leave lapses on departure under section 3C(3), and the GOV.UK settlement pages say the application will be withdrawn. Entry back into the UK would need the right entry clearance or permission for the person's circumstances, which is a separate question.

Finding a regulated adviser

Whether you have 3C leave on a given day turns on dates and on the exact decision in your file, so people often ask a regulated adviser to check the dates before they act. The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number so you can check them on the official register. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work in general; it does not tell you what to do in your own case.

Questions people ask

What is section 3C leave?

It is your existing UK leave, extended on the same conditions, when you apply to vary it before it expires and the leave runs out before the Home Office decides. It also continues while an appeal or administrative review is possible or pending.

Can I work on section 3C leave?

The Home Office guidance says a person with 3C leave remains subject to the conditions of their previous leave. If those conditions allowed work, they continue to apply, with any limits on type of job or hours.

Do I have 3C leave if I applied after my visa expired?

No. The guidance says section 3C does not extend leave where the application is made after the current leave has expired. Whether a short gap can be disregarded is decided under the overstayer exceptions in the Immigration Rules.

Can I travel while I have 3C leave?

Section 3C(3) says 3C leave lapses if you leave the UK. Settlement application pages on GOV.UK add that travelling outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision leads to the application being withdrawn without a refund.

Does 3C leave continue after my application is refused?

Only while an in-country appeal or an administrative review could be brought or is pending. The guidance gives the review deadlines as 14 days if not detained and 7 days if detained. If no remedy is available, or the time limit passes without a request, 3C leave ends.

Can I make a new application while on 3C leave?

Section 3C(4) says no, you may not apply to vary your leave while it is extended by 3C, but section 3C(5) lets you vary the application you have already made. A fresh application during an administrative review ends the review and the 3C leave the day before.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Administrative review of a UK visa refusal — Administrative review is a Home Office check of whether a refusal was caused by a caseworking error. It costs £80 and must be requested online within 14 days if you were in the UK, 28 days if you applied from outside, or 7 days if detained. It only covers routes listed in Appendix AR, usually ignores new evidence, and GOV.UK says results can take 12 months or more.
  • Overstayed your UK visa: what the rules say — Overstaying means staying after your permission has ended. Under Part Suitability a short gap can be disregarded in limited cases (an application within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control, or after an in-time application was refused or rejected). Overstayers have no right to work, rent or claim benefits, and leaving can trigger re-entry bans of 12 months to 10 years.
  • UK visa refused: appeal, administrative review or reapply? — Your refusal letter says whether you can ask for an administrative review (£80; 14 days in the UK, 28 days outside, 7 if detained) or appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (£82 or £144; 14 or 28 days). Appeals are only for refused protection or human rights claims and a few other decision types. Making a new application withdraws a pending administrative review.
  • Immigration appeal to the First-tier Tribunal — You can only appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) if the decision carries a right of appeal, mainly a refused protection claim, a refused human rights claim, or a revoked protection status. The fee is £82 without a hearing or £144 with one, and the notice of appeal must reach the tribunal within 14 days if you are in the UK or 28 days if you are outside it.
  • ILR refused: what happens to your status — Refusal of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) does not by itself tell you how long you can stay: that depends on whether your current permission has expired and whether you applied before it did. If you did, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends your leave while a review or appeal could be brought or is pending. A new application made within 14 days of the refusal, or of the review or appeal window ending, is not treated as overstaying (SUI 13.1).
  • Skilled Worker visa refused: options and deadlines — A refused Skilled Worker application can be challenged by administrative review (£80; 14 days if you applied in the UK, 28 days if you applied from abroad) because Appendix Skilled Worker is on the eligible list. A certificate of sponsorship that has been used in a refused application cannot be used again (SW 5.1(d)), so a fresh application needs a new certificate and a new visa fee.