We appreciate that paying for our legal services is a great concern for many of our clients. Our pricing compares favourably against our competitors and we believe we offer great value for our clients, particularly given the high level of service we provide. You might want to read our reviews on Trust Pilot.
Immigration Costs For Individuals
Immigration Applications
| Immigration Applications – Type of Service | Fee Range (excluding VAT) | Fee Range (including VAT) |
| Consultation by appointment | £0-£875 | £0-£1,050 |
| Family based application under Appendix FM for Entry Clearance/Leave to Remain or Indefinite Leave to Remain | £900-1,000-£2,750 | £1,080 – £3,300 |
| Private Life Application/complex human rights/outside the Immigration Rules Application | £900-1,000-£2,750 | £1,080 – £3,300 |
| Application for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the 10-year Rule | £900-1,000-£2,250 | £1,080 – £3,300 |
| Application under the EU Settlement Scheme | £150-£2,750 | £180- £3,300 |
| Application for British Citizenship | £750-£2000 | £900 – £2,400 |
| Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) or Tier 1 (Investor) | £3,000-£10,000 | £3,600 – £12,000 |
| Skilled Worker / Student Application under the Points Based System – Initial Application/further leave/Indefinite Leave to Remain | £450-£1,500 | £540- £1,800 |
| PBS Dependant’s Visa – applying separately from/with the main Applicant) | £450-£1,500 | £540-£1,800 |
| Letter Before Claim | £450-£1,500 | £540-£1,800 |
| Attendance at a local Visa Application Centre | £500-£1,000 | £600-£1,200 |
Court / Tribunal Work
| Court / Tribunal Work – Type of Service | Fee Range (excluding VAT) | Fee Range (including VAT) |
| Bail Applications to the First Tier Tribunal | £1,000 – £2,500 | £1,200 – £3,000 |
| Representation at Bail Hearings (excluding advocacy) | £500 – £1,000 | £600 – £1,200 |
| Lodging grounds of Appeal to the First Tier Tribunal | £500 – £900 | £600 – £1,080 |
| Court representation in the First Tier Tribunal (excluding advocacy) | £2,700 – £3,600 | £3,240 – £4,320 |
| Applications for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal (excluding drafting of grounds by counsel) | £500-£900 | £600-£1,080 |
| Representation in the Upper Tribunal (excluding advocacy) | £720 – £1,440 | £864 – £1,728 |
Disbursements
You are liable for any disbursements which arise during your case. A disbursement is a payment which we make to a third party on your behalf. Disbursements include counsel fees, tribunal fees, interpreting and translation, although these are relatively rare in most immigration applications.
Typically work done by counsel includes providing a legal opinion, drafting grounds of appeal and representing you in the tribunal. Their costs will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the work, but will typically be between £500 and £3,000 plus VAT. This works out at between £600 and £3,600 inclusive of VAT.
Interpreting fees are typically between £30 to £100 per hour plus VAT. You may also have to cover any travel costs for the interpreter. Therefore, an hour’s interpreting will often cost between £35-110 plus VAT, or between £42 to £132 inclusive of VAT.
Translation companies usually charge by the word, usually around £0.10 to £0.20 per word plus VAT. Therefore, a 1,000 word document could cost between £10 and £20 plus VAT if payable. This would work out at between £12 and £24 inclusive of VAT.
The cost to lodge an application to appeal before the First-tier Tribunal is £140. VAT is not chargeable.
You are also liable to pay any Home Office fees. We will usually ask you to pay these fees directly to the Home Office rather than through us. The fees vary greatly depending on the type of application you make, and range from £90 to nearly £2,400. In our discussions with you, we will be as clear as we can, as early as we can, about the Home Office fees which will apply in your individual case.
You may also be liable to pay any Immigration Health Surcharge, if applicable. This is normally £624 per year but less if you are a student, on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa or are under 18. Certain Heath and Care professions are exempt from the charge.
VAT is not chargeable on Home Office applications or on the Immigration Health Surcharge.
* The above prices are estimates based on our hourly rate of between £150 and £250 per hour plus VAT. These rates vary according to the seniority of the fee earner as well as the complexity and or urgency of the case. VAT is currently charged at 20% and the above prices show prices exclusive and inclusive of VAT.
We have provided a range of pricing which reflects the fact that some cases take longer than others. For example, if your case is particularly complex and/or has a high volume of documents for us to read then our estimate is likely to be at the higher end of the range. We may exceptionally give you an estimate outside of this range.
We will often provide work for a fixed fee, within the above ranges.
Funding your Immigration case
Paying your own fees
For immigration cases, most of our clients will pay for their legal fees themselves.
Our immigration pricing above for individuals is a genuine reflection of the total fees that clients will pay. We try and be as flexible as possible with our funding to suit your needs. We may be able to offer you a fixed fee in respect of your case.
Please do check whether you have legal expenses insurance, for example through your household insurance policy. However, in our experience funding of immigration legal work is seldom included in these types of policies.
Unfortunately, we cannot offer to fund your case through Legal Aid as we do not hold a Legal Aid contract. It also is worth bearing in mind that, in terms of the types of immigration cases now covered, Legal Aid is restricted to asylum, domestic violence, victims of trafficking or bail matters.
Crowdfunding
It might be possible to fund your case through a crowdfunding platform, such as CrowdJustice.
Crowdfunding allows you to raise your legal funds through family, friends and other supporters of your case. In immigration cases, the type of cases which are most likely to be suitable tend to be those which can attract support from family, friends or the local community.
Funding can be raised to pay for the Truth Legal Immigration Team to work on any matter, such as a visa application, appeal or judicial review. Funds can also be raised towards any disbursements. In immigration cases these are likely to include Home Office application fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, barristers’ fees and translations.
Occasionally, your case might be capable of attracting wider crowdfunding support. This could be if your case raises wider points of public interest which could benefit a larger group of people, rather than just you.
CrowdJustice will help you to set up your webpage to raise funds. Once your target of funds is hit then the funds are transferred to your client account at Truth Legal. This means that you do not need to handle any cash yourself. Find out more about crowdfunding for legal cases.
Please contact us today to discuss your funding options.
How we can help
Consultation
We offer an initial consultation by telephone or video chat. Often this is enough to either answer any query you have or to determine whether we can effectively assist you with your case. If you then choose to have a one of our Immigration solicitors review your case in detail, including written advice, then this is normally a charged-for service at £500.
As part of a more detailed consultation we will either attend with you in person, by telephone or video link, to take detailed instructions. We will review relevant documentation and then provide detailed Immigration Law advice orally and in writing. We will consider which routes are available to you and the relevant application process and supporting documentation required.
We can usually provide consultations at short notice, almost always within a week, often the same day.
Court/Tribunal work
In matters before the court or tribunal, there are various different stages of work involved. These include:
- Bail Application
Preparing the Bail Application and Grounds of Bail. - Representation at Bail Hearings
Preparing the Bail Application, including advising on required documents, reviewing documents, and submitting documents to the Tribunal. Also includes briefing counsel. Note that a separate fee will be payable to Counsel. - Lodging Grounds of Appeal to the First Tier Tribunal
Completing the relevant Appeal Form and drafting separate Grounds of Appeal. - Court representation in the First Tier Tribunal
Advising and reviewing required documents, drafting witness statements, preparing bundle, briefing Counsel, and all work up to a decision from the Tribunal. - Applications for Permission to Appeal to the Upper Tribunal
Preparing Application for Permission to Appeal to the Upper Tribunal and liaising with Counsel. Note that a separate fee will likely be payable for Counsel to draft grounds. - Representation in the Upper Tribunal
Preparing a supplementary bundle and liaising with Counsel.
Timescales
The timescales involved in your case can vary greatly depending on the complexity of the case and whether your case relates to an application, appeal or judicial review.
Most applications for leave to remain, entry clearance or nationality applications are decided within six months, unless they are considered by the Home Office to be ‘complex’, in which case they can take longer to be decided.
The length of time it takes for an appeal to be heard can vary greatly, depending on how busy the tribunal is at any given time. Typically, it will take between three and 12 months for an appeal to be heard.
Judicial reviews can be particularly slow-moving. It will often take around three to five months for a permission hearing to be listed. It can take over a year for the matter to proceed to a full hearing, if contested.
