Our Professional Fees

We understand that every client is different, so we will always provide a personalised service with solutions tailored to your priorities and preferences. 

Once we have an understanding of the issues, complexities and urgencies around your case, we will provide you with a bespoke quote for our professional fees and outline the applicable Home Office fees (disbursements). The majority of our immigration work can be offered on a fixed fee basis, ensuring transparency and certainty for you from the outset. Our fee quotation and information on any associated disbursements will either be provided to you as part of an initial consultation or as part of the engagement process. 

Each matter will be handled throughout by a senior consultant and our fee quotation is based upon our estimate of the time that they will spend on your matter; our senior consultant’s hourly rate is £350 (plus VAT). 

For our average professional fee ranges, please see the table below. Please note we do not charge an administrative fee to cover the costs of establishing you as a client and the fee ranges below are exclusive of VAT (charged at 20%, if applicable) and exclusive of disbursements.

Each fee quotation will take the following range of factors into consideration:

• the complexity of the legal issues involved;
• whether you meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules or British Nationality Act 1981 (as applicable) without requiring discretion to be exercised; 
• whether there are any other factors which make the application more complex, such as a criminal record or a history of non-compliance with UK immigration;
• the urgency of the matter;
• the level of documentation available and any issues in obtaining this;
• where the application is being made and any particular additional services you wish to use;
• whether the application is an initial one, an extension or an application for indefinite leave to remain;
• whether there are any dependants and their personal circumstances;
• the nature and number of any required supporting statements;
• if we are required to liaise with third parties, such as accountants or financial institutions;
• attendance at the Home Office, one of its Service Points in the UK or abroad, or Courts and Tribunals;
• any novel issues or unanticipated matters;
• if Counsel is required to provide written advice and/or to represent you as part of an appeal process; and
• the number of tribunal appearances required

Our fee quotations typically include the following work:

• taking your instructions;
• understanding your circumstances, priorities and immigration goals;
• undertaking research, where required;
• assessing the routes available and developing a tailored strategic plan;
• providing you with detailed written advice on the criteria, evidence and procedural requirements for your application, including where appropriate, liaising with relevant parties to obtain suitable documentation;
• preparing the relevant application form and any additional evidence, as required,
• reviewing and organising all supporting documentation;
• preparing bundles of documentation, where required;
• providing written supporting legal representations to be submitted with your application;
• liaising with the Home Office as required; and
• providing you with further detailed written advice on the next steps once the application has been decided.

Disbursements

These will vary depending upon the application, but typically include the following:

• Home Office application fees (click here for the Home Office’s visa/entry clearance fee calculator and here for a list of all Home Office fees); 
• Immigration Health Surcharge fees, if applicable;
• Appointment fees and other optional premium service fees for in-country and out-of-country applications, including priority services; and
• Other ancillary disbursements, such as fees English language test fees, TB test fees, Life in the UK Test fees, fees incurred by UK ENIC (ECCTIS) where you are relying upon educational courses to meet the English language requirement, biometric enrolment fees, translation fees, courier fees and postage charges, etc.

Timescales

Once we have received all of your required documentation, it will take us approximately 5 working days to collate evidence, draft the application form and finalise submissions. This timescale may vary depending upon the type of application made and your country of residence / citizenship; for example, you may be subject to additional documentary requirements, such as providing a medical screening certificate or an overseas criminal record certificate before your application can be finalised.

All immigration applications must be submitted in line with the Home Office’s current qualifying criteria and, whenever possible, prior to your leave expiring. 

Once your application form has been submitted online and you have paid the relevant Home Office fees, you will be required to provide your biometrics (photograph and fingerprints) and digitally submit your supporting documents. It is only once you have completed this process that the visa processing time will start running. The Home Office may require you to physically attend an appointment to provide your biometrics and supporting documentation. Alternatively, biometrics may be submitted through the Home Office’s IDV app with supporting documents being uploaded digitally. If you are required to attend an appointment, additional fees may be charged by the Home Office’s commercial partners for the appointment and to utilise any optional additional ‘added value’ services. 

The time that it will take until the Home Office make a decision on your application depends upon the type of application made, where it is submitted from (inside the UK or from abroad) and the impact of any other extraneous factors affecting Home Office resources (e.g. COVID-19). The Home Office publishes visa processing information online; for applications made inside the UK, the published visa processing times can be found here. For applications made from abroad, the published visa processing times can be found here. 

Depending upon the type of application submitted and where it is made from, you may have the option to pay an additional fee for a ‘priority’ or ‘super priority’ service to speed up the standard decision-making timescales. The availability and costs of any priority services will be confirmed with you at the time of our instruction, but please note that these are subject to frequent change by the Home Office / the Home Office’s commercial partners and if the application is deemed complex by the Home Office for any reason, the priority timescale is unlikely to apply. 

The Home Office will notify you of the likely timescales for a decision on your application at the time of submission.