At Braitch Solicitors the Asylum and Immigration department deals with all aspects of UK Asylum and Immigration Law and we hold a Legal Aoid contract in the area of Asylum law. ( Legal Aid). Our immigration team; solicitors, trainee solicitors and caseworkers will have completed their Law Society’s Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS).
Our vast experience means we can advise you on all aspects concerning immigration to the UK. We can help you with:
- Asylum work including Judicial Reviews/Injunctions/Applications to the Court of Appeal/ECHR
- Spouses, children and other family members
- Human rights
- Family reunions where family members are coming to the UK
- Right of abode
- Business immigration
- Application under Points Based System
- Foreign students
- EU cases where one party is a non EU/UK national working or studying in the UK
- Other circumstances involving entering the UK temporarily or permanently
- Naturalisation as a British Citizen
- Registration of Minors
- Human rights
- Registration of British Overseas Citizens as full British Citizens
- Right of abode in the UK
- Assessment and issue of the required English language certificate
Please bring all immigration and asylum documents and any other documents you feel are relevant. Also bring proof of any income or financial support you are getting.
If you qualify for Legal Aid we may be able to help you free of charge (but you will still have to pay the Home Office fee).
Immigration Fees and Services
It is our aim to charge fees for our services which are fair to you, in that they are clear and reasonable, and are also fair to us, in that they reflect our professional skill, expertise and experience and enable us to run a sustainable business.
We appreciate that immigration advice is not a ‘one size fits all’ area of law and different clients may want different levels of advice at different points in their immigration journey. We therefore offer a range of services and packages and aim to be as flexible as we can in responding to your needs.
Start with an Initial Consultation
We do not offer an initial free consultation.
Full Representation and Key Stages
For full representation our fee, whether a fixed fee or charged at an hourly rate, will generally include the following:
- Initial instructions – remote, face-to-face, email or telephone, either directly with you, or with a family member or other trusted person if you are outside the UK
- Checking your eligibility for the proposed application
- Providing you with a Client Letter confirming your instructions, our advice and the steps we will be taking on your behalf and a Costs of your Case setting out the costs involved
- Advising on any areas of difficulty with your application
- Providing a list of the documents which you will need for your application
- Assistance with setting up and reviewing your online application
- Checking all supporting documents
- Providing a covering letter to UKVI
- Assistance with submitting your application
- Advice on receipt of decision, including advice on steps to be taken in the future
Where we offer a fixed fee, it will include all work up to the date of submission of the application and one hours fee work after submission after which the file reverts to an hourly rates. Where the application generates additional work, we will charge for that work on an hourly basis which we will confirm with you.
Dependants
If a dependant is applying at the same time as the main applicant, we will generally charge an additional fee. This covers time spent identifying and checking the additional forms and documents required for each dependant.
How We Charge
Fixed Fees
In some cases, where the work we are going to do can be reasonably defined in advance, we can offer a ‘Fixed Fee’ for the work to be undertaken. The benefit of a Fixed Fee is that it provides you and us with greater certainty of the costs.
Hourly Rates
In other cases, our fees will be based on the amount of time we spend working on your case, at an hourly rate. We will try to estimate the likely costs in your case at the beginning, or as soon as possible afterwards. We can provide no guarantee that the final charge will not exceed the estimate because there are many factors outside our control that affect the level of costs. If it becomes clear that the costs will be greater than the amount estimated, then we will give you a revised estimate and the reason for the revision.
Our hourly rates vary according to the seniority of the team member and the nature of the work. VAT will be charged where appropriate:
Disbursements
The fees quoted are the legal fees, paid to us for the work we do. There might be other fees you will have to pay, sometimes called ‘disbursements’. These are costs such as visa or application fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, court fees, fees for medical reports or translations, and courier fee’s. We will advise you at the beginning of the case of any anticipated disbursements.
Current home office fees can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-regulations-revised-table
VAT
We are required to add VAT at the rate of 20% to your bill if your place of lawful residence is in the UK. If your ‘place of belonging’ is outside the UK then you are not liable to have VAT added to your bill.
Administrative Review
Certain UKVI decisions can be challenged by way of an application for Administrative Review.
We will advise you whether there is any merit in making such an application. The legal costs for preparing and submitting an application for Administrative Review will depend on the reasons for refusal, the mistake made by UKVI and the complexity of the arguments to be presented.
The costs are likely to be in the range £500 – £1600 + VAT.
Appeals
There are now very limited Rights of Appeal against UKVI decisions. Generally the fee for an appeal will range from £3000 – £6000 + VAT ( £3600.00 to £7200.00) not including the costs of the advocate (barrister or solicitor) on the day/s of the hearing.
The costs of the barrister will depend on the nature of your case and how experienced the barrister is.
The fixed fee or the estimate you are given for appeal work will generally include the following level of service:
- Completing and submitting Notice of Appeal with grounds of appeal
- Preparing witness statements for you but not anyone else who will be attending the appeal on your behalf
- Advising on evidence in support of your appeal
- Considering the ‘Respondent’s Bundle’ of documents which UKVI will prepare in advance of the appeal
- Preparing a complete, indexed and paginated ‘Appellant’s Bundle’ of statements and other documents
- Submitting your Bundle to the Tribunal and to UKVI in advance of the appeal
- Meeting with you remotely or in person to plan for the appeal, go through your evidence, answer your questions and describe the procedure on the day
- Arranging for you to be represented at the hearing of your appeal by a barrister, experienced in immigration law;
- Providing the barrister with detailed instructions regarding your appeal;
- Considering the written decision of the Judge following the hearing of the appeal and advising on next steps.
Time Scales
The time it takes an application to be prepared and submitted will depend on the type of application, the complexity of the application, the time taken to assemble all the supporting documents, and in some cases the time needed to meet various requirements of the rules.
The time taken by UKVI to make a decision on an application will also vary greatly. The average times for applications made outside the UK can be seen in the UKVI visa processing times. The service standards for applications made within the UK can be seen in the UKVI Service Standards.
Asylum:
We offer Legal Aid in the area of Asylum law providing the Merits test and the Means test is met.
Fee’s Current at April 2025.
IMMIGRATION FEES TABLE
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Naturalisation Applications where there is no criminality, over staying or illegal entry
To deal with overstaying, criminality and illegal entry in any application made to the Home Office -additional fee
Child’s Registration for British Nationality
Priority Fees are payable when the application is lodged when the leave is about to lapse within 4 weeks of initial instructions
Applications made in country for Indefinite leave to remain applications, spouse, further leave to remain, skilled migrant
Spouse applications for entry clearance, employed sponsor
Additional charges for self-employed in an application for entry clearance or leave to remain
New sponsorship applications for company for a Sponsor Licence
Sponsorship Declaration
Travel Document Application
Non-Refugee Travel Document Application
Subject Access Bureau Request (requesting file from the Home Office)
Dependent’s applications where main application is lodged by the firm
EEA applications starting point for pre-settled or settled status
E-visa application
NTL application from paper ILR to online
Lodging an asylum and human rights appeal and coming off record once the appeal has been lodged
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£600 plus VAT (£720.00)
£350 plus VAT (£420.00)
£950 plus VAT (£1140.00)
£500 plus VAT (£600.00)
£1500 plus VAT (£1800.00)
£1350 plus VAT (£1620.00)
£500 plus VAT (£600.00)
£1800 plus VAT (£2160.00)
£80 plus VAT (£96.00)
£300 plus VAT (£360.00)
£500 plus VAT (£600.00)
£350 plus VAT (£420.00)
£850 plus VAT (£1020.00)
£500 plus VAT (£600.00)
£225 plus VAT (£270.00)
£500 plus VAT (£600.00)
£300 plus VAT, if applicable (£360.00)
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Additional Handling Fees
Special Delivery Handling Fee
Signed For Handling Fee
Storage Fee
Uploading Fee when documents are uploaded
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£75 plus VAT (£90.00)
£50 plus VAT (£60.00)
£25 plus VAT (£30.00)
£75 plus VAT (£90.00) |
All the above applications include one hour post application work. Thereafter, reverts to hourly rates which are set out below and excludes any bail, work permission or appeal work. No fixed fee includes travel or wait.
Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 8 Years Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £282.00 excluding VAT (338.40 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £141.00 excluding VAT (£169.20inc.VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £28.20 excluding VAT (£33.84 inc. VAT) (per item)
Solicitors and Legal Executives with over 4 Years Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £242.00 excluding VAT (£290.40 inc.VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £121.00 excluding VAT (£145.20 inc.VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £24.20 excluding VAT (£29.04) inc. VAT) (per item)
Other Solicitors, Legal Executives and Fee Earners of Equivalent Experience
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £196.00 excluding VAT (£235.20 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £98.00 excluding VAT (£117.60 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £19.60 excluding VAT (£23.52 inc. VAT) (per item)
Trainee Solicitors, Paralegals and Other Fee Earners
Attendance, Advocacy & Preparation £139.00 excluding VAT (£166.80 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Travel & Wait £69.50 excluding VAT (£83.40 inc. VAT) (per hour)
Letters & Telephone Calls Out £13.90 excluding VAT (£16.68 inc. VAT) (per item)