What are the general grounds for refusal?

The general grounds for refusal are the Immigration Rules that say when the Home Office must or may refuse a UK application, whatever the route, for reasons such as criminality, deception or a previous breach of immigration law. Since 11 November 2025 these rules sit in Part Suitability, which replaced Part 9.

How the general grounds for refusal work

The general grounds for refusal are the rules a decision maker applies on top of the requirements of the route you applied under. They are now in Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules. Part Suitability replaced Part 9 on 11 November 2025. The Home Office now uses the term suitability requirements, which covers the grounds for refusal.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Cancellation and curtailment of permission (caseworker guidance)}

Part Suitability applies to most routes. If an applicant is refused under it, they do not meet the suitability requirements of the route they applied under. Some routes have their own or additional suitability requirements.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} See suitability requirements.

Each decision is either mandatory (the Rules say must) or discretionary (the Rules say may). Where a refusal would be incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the route-specific rules set out the approach.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

The Part is in 5 sections: how it applies, grounds for refusal or cancellation of entry clearance or permission, extra grounds on arrival in the UK, extra grounds for permission to stay and extra grounds for cancellation.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

Key grounds

This table covers some of the main grounds that apply to applications for entry clearance or permission. It is not the full list. The paragraph numbers are those in Part Suitability.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

Two of these grounds have their own pages. See deception and re-entry ban.

Where the grounds do not apply

Part Suitability applies to all routes except a short list. The list includes Appendix EU, Appendix EU (Family Permit) and Appendix Settlement Protection.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} It also does not apply to Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} For a person who has settlement and is in the UK, permission can only be cancelled on the grounds in section 76 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability} See cancellation of leave.

Example

Daniel applies to extend his permission. He has a conviction for which he received a suspended sentence of 12 months. Under SUI 5.1 the application must be refused. If the sentence had been under 12 months, SUI 5.3 says the application may be refused, and the decision maker has a choice.

Aisha applies for entry clearance. A relevant NHS body has told the Home Office that she owes charges with a total value of £500. SUI 16.1 allows a refusal at that level. If the total were £300, the ground would not apply because it needs at least £500.^{[1]Home Office, Immigration Rules: Part Suitability}

These examples show how the rule reads. They do not predict how any decision will be made.

What people get wrong

Many people assume every ground means automatic refusal. It does not. The Rules mark each ground as must or may. For a may ground the decision maker has discretion, and that is a different position from a must ground.

The second mistake is using old paragraph numbers. Documents from before 11 November 2025 use Part 9 paragraph numbers, such as 9.7.3. Home Office guidance maps these to the new numbers. In this case the new number is SUI 10.2, the cancellation ground. Always check which version of the Rules a decision applied.^{[2]UK Visas and Immigration, Cancellation and curtailment of permission (caseworker guidance)}

The bottom line

The general grounds for refusal are now called suitability requirements and sit in Part Suitability. They apply to most routes, they are either must or may, and the same Part covers cancellation. A refusal on these grounds is a separate question from whether the applicant meets the route’s other requirements. Check the exact paragraph in the refusal letter against the current Rules.