Fees

Consultations

We offer consultations for a fixed fee of £350, plus VAT. This will typically involve meeting with you either in person or on a call to review the facts of your circumstances and advise you how best to proceed to achieve your UK immigration goals, or the options available to you.

Key stages of application and likely timescales

The key stages of the application process are:

• With every application type, we will advise you on the legal requirements and will help guide you to the best solution (this would typically take 1-2 weeks).
• We will advise you which documents will be required and will prepare and submit the appropriate UK Visas & Immigration application form on your behalf (this could take between 1 week and several months, depending on how quickly you can provide us with the information we request).
• Once the application is submitted, we will assist with arranging a biometric appointment if you require one (this happens immediately after the submission of the online form) and upload your supporting documents to your application with a supporting covering letter (between the submission of the form and your appointment).
• Where an application requires a certificate of sponsorship, or an endorsement from a specific governing body, we will advise on the requirements and assist with the process as necessary (this could take between 1 week and several months, depending on how quickly you can provide us with the information we request).
• After your application has been submitted, we will communicate with UK Visas and Immigration if any follow up information or documents are required (within their deadlines)
• Once your application is approved, we will coordinate delivery of any documents to be returned to you (within 1 week).

The precise timescale for each stage of the application process will depend on the facts of your case, the number of documents, whether they need to be translated, whether anything is missing and how long it will take to obtain the missing documents as well as other factors.  However, we can  estimate that we would normally be able to submit each type of application within the timescales set out in the table above after you have instructed us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. Read the current processing times.

When a lower end fixed fee will apply

Fees at the lower end of our range of fees are more likely to apply to a standard application, and will include:

• meeting you or speaking on the phone to take detailed instructions
• advising you on the appropriate immigration application in your circumstances, and whether your application meets the legal requirements
• considering relevant documents
• advising on the relevant application process
• preparing and assisting with the submission of your application, including completing the relevant application form and requesting and reviewing or drafting relevant documents
• advising you on timelines and the outcome of the application
• liaising with the UKVI about your application, including writing a cover letter for your application

When a higher end fixed fee will apply

Our fixed fees may be higher where one or more of these or other factors make the matter more complicated than a standard application:

• if practical aspects to your application will require additional work, such as:
  • where you travel frequently
  • Where there are relevant parties in different countries
  • where there is a requirement for urgent/expedited assistance
  • if it is a fast tracked/priority service
• if aspects of your case are legally or factually complex/do not clearly meet the requirements of the relevant law
• if you have a complex immigration history/you are an overstayer/have a criminal record
• the number of support documents/statements/letters needed
• if expert evidence is required, and we will liaise with an expert and review reports
• if the application will require our personal attendance, such as at a UKVI interview or application centre
• if there are dependants, their number and if there are any complicating factors about their applications
• if a partner is an unmarried partner, as additional evidence of cohabitation will be required
• bespoke additional services agreed on a case by case basis

Services not included in any fixed fee

Unless we confirm otherwise, our fixed fee will not include:

• assistance with document procurement from overseas authorities
• advice on whether there are any tax or other fiscal implications of the work
• advice on whether an application may have any implications for other citizenships
• any work after an application is submitted other than advice on a successful outcome, in particular:
  • advice and assistance with any rejection or refusal of an application
  • dealing with non-standard requests for additional documents or further information from the UKVI

Disbursements and additional costs

In most applications, the main additional costs will be:

• Government (UKVI) application fees, including the Immigration Health Surcharge where relevant, vary over time as the government varies their fees and as exchange rates change. See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table.  You will pay these fees to the UKVI directly as part of the application process and VAT is not charged on these
• third party application processing costs, including priority processing charges:
  • for applications made in the UK, see https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/additional-services – VAT is charged within these fees
  • for applications made outside the UK, see: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-visa-application-centre – VAT is not charged on these fees
• interpreters and translation costs and we would always provide you with a detailed quote before proceeding, the fees depending on the number of words to be translated/interpreted – VAT is normally charged on these fees
• copying/scanning and postage fees. When we are scanning/ copying a large number of documents for you, we will make a one-off administrative charge of £50 + VAT to cover our costs
• postage costs, which vary according to the size of any package to be sent and VAT can be charged
• travel costs. These are hardly ever required: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider travel costs will be incurred
• independent expert reports e.g. medical experts.  These are hardly ever required: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary

Not all immigration cases attract VAT. If you are liable to pay VAT, 20% will be added to our fees and some expenses or disbursements. This applies if your usual place of residence is the UK, including if you had leave to remain in the UK but overstayed. If you are not a resident in the UK, or you entered the country without permission and do not yet have leave to remain, you are not normally liable to pay VAT.

How long will an application take?

The time taken to submit your application will depend on your particular circumstances, and we will confirm the relevant time frames to you.

UKVI decision-making times depend on the type of application, where it is submitted, and whether any priority services are used, as well  as other factors. Standard processing times are published by the UKVI:

• for immigration applications submitted from outside the UK, on their Visa Processing Times tool: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times
• for immigration applications submitted in the UK, in the relevant category guide: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration

We will normally be able to submit in-country applications within two to three months of you instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this.

All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.

Who will be carrying out the work: team qualifications and experience

Work on your application will be undertaken by the individual solicitors in our immigration team with the assistance of trainee solicitors and paralegals.  All work is ultimately supervised by Helen Smith who is a solicitor and a partner.  Information on the team members can be found on the team page.