IMMIGRATION – TYPICAL LEGAL COSTS

There are two main elements to the legal costs of dealing with immigration applications: our charges; and expenses we must pay out on your behalf.

OUR CHARGES

Our charge for a typical immigration application will be calculated by reference to our hourly rates which range from £200 plus VAT for trainees to £800 plus VAT for partners. Our charges for a typical immigration application range from £5,000 – £30,000 plus VAT.

The exact cost depends on the circumstances of your case. The above range of costs is based on the following factors:

• this being a first-time application;
• there being no dependents;
• whether our advice and your responses and instructions have to be translated;
• attendance at a Home Office interview not being necessary; and
• this not being a fast tracked or premium application.

Our charges do not include VAT, which we will add to your bill at the prevailing rate.

The estimate of costs given above relates to applications for naturalisation, applications on behalf of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their family members and applications for student, work, tourism and business visas.

EXPENSES

We sometimes incur certain expenses your behalf which we will also add to your bill. The amount of expenses can vary and the following is an estimate only:

• Application fee: from approximately £200 for certain applications to in excess of £10,000 for certain premium applications;
• Immigration Health Surcharge: between £150 per year of leave for students and Tier 5 Youth Mobility applicants and £1,000 per year of leave for other applications.

Should you instruct us to arrange the translation of documentation, we would first obtain an estimate from a translator. These fees vary depending on the language and number of documents involved and can on occasion be significantly more than the range given above. We will provide an accurate figure once we have seen the relevant documentation for the application.

The range of our fees above includes the key stages of an immigration application:

• taking instructions and giving initial advice on which is the most appropriate application to make;
• giving advice on the relevant criteria and the effect of this in the particular circumstances of the application;
• obtaining, receiving and advising on further evidence (e.g. medical records) and other relevant documents as well as taking statements from any witnesses;
• preparing and submitting the application; and advising the client on timelines and the outcome of the application.

ADDITIONAL COSTS

Additional amounts may be payable for our charges and / or expenses if an unusually high number of supporting documents, dependents and / or witnesses are involved.

The fee range given above specifically does not include:

• attendance at a Home Office interview;
• any Home Office fees for making the application as you pay this direct to the Home Office;
• if your application is refused, advice and assistance in relation to an appeal

LIKELY TIMESCALE AND KEY STAGES

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. It could take anything from a week to up to a year, and in rare circumstances sometimes longer. You should read the current processing times available here: https://www.gov.uk/visa-processing-times.

We will normally be able to submit a Tier 2 General switching application within two to three weeks of receiving instructions 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. We can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about the specific case.

OUR EXPERTISE

Our team has many years of collective experience in delivering high quality work relating to immigration applications.