Immigration matters fees

It is our aim to charge fees for our services which are fair to our clients, 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

For new matters, we offer an initial half an hour to one hour consultation.  This can be face to face, telephone, email (or a combination of these).  It might include us reading documents before the consultation.

We do not offer an initial free consultation, which are usually used just to set out the costs, rather than for advice.  We have found that this is not a good use of anyone’s time.

In the initial consultation, we will give you clear advice on the case, your options, the costs and what needs to be done.  You are then free to choose whether to instruct us to assist you further (in which case the initial fee will be taken off our overall fee quote) or to continue with the case on your own.

We generally offer a Fixed Fee for the consultation ranging from £50 – £200, depending on the nature of the issue, the amount of preparatory work to be undertaken and the seniority of the person who will be providing the advice. 

For how we charge where we are providing full representation, see here: How We Charge

For a description of the work we will do for you and time scales, see here: The work we will do for you and time scales

For illustrations of our fixed fees and the likely costs where we charge hourly, see here: Fixed fees and the likely costs where we charge hourly

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 Agreement is that you know at the beginning of the case what your legal costs will be. 

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. 

The fees quoted are the legal fees, paid to Lextel Solicitors. 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 or Special/Recorded Delivery fees. We will advise you at the beginning of the case of any anticipated disbursements. The work we will do for you and time scales For full representation, the fees quoted will generally include the following: Initial instructions – 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 detailed client care letter confirming your instructions, our advice, the steps we will be taking on your behalf and the costs involved; Advising on any areas of difficulty with your application; Providing a checklist of the documents which you will need for your application; Assistance with setting up and completing online applications; Providing template letters where required; Checking all supporting documents; Providing a detailed covering letter to UKVI; Assistance with submitting your application; Written 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 any routine steps taken thereafter. Where the application generates UKVI enquiries, requests for interviews or other responses requiring additional work, we will charge for that work on an hourly basis which we will confirm with you

Disbursements can be  charged for drafting by the Barristers, Reports from the Experts, Priority Service fees, and so on.

Extra fees can be changed for the client in out of normal working hours/ weekend/ Bank holidays/Emergency Basis.

LEXTEL SOLICITORS will not be responsible for any loss for the hearing adjournment /postponed/vacated/Re-listing by the court and clients will be responsible to Lextel Solicitors to pay again fon    r the fees for the next hearing  

There are now very limited Rights of Appeal against UKVI decisions. Generally our charge for an appeal will range from £1500 – £3000, 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 and 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 (including country information and case law);

Submitting your Bundle to the Tribunal and to UKVI in advance of the appeal;

Meeting with you 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.