Immigration

Application type

Summerfield Browne Solicitors have experts that have dealt with a vast number of Business Sponsorship Licence applications as well as Spouse Visa applications.

Business Immigration

A business wishing to employ an oversees national who is not a settled worker or does not otherwise have the right to work in the UK will be required to apply to the Home Office for a sponsor licence if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Personal Immigration

The UK Spouse Visa is designed for individuals who are married to British or Irish citizens, those who are settled in the UK, individuals holding pre-settled status, as well as those with a Turkish Businessperson or Turkish Worker visa, and individuals with refugee status or humanitarian protection. This visa allows them to join or remain with their spouse in the UK. Additionally, an application for a UK Spouse Visa can be made if a spouse is currently outside the UK but plans to return to the UK alongside their partner.

Our standard charges

We typically charge a fixed fee which can range from £2,000.00 – £15,000.00 (excluding VAT at a rate of 20%). Hourly rate: £200 (plus £40 VAT) - £350 (plus £70 VAT)

On average, this type of work takes between 10- 40 hours to complete. The fixed fee is determined based on several factors, including but not limited to:

• The length of time it will require to complete the application
• The number of applicants applying (for e.g. in a spouse visa, if this includes children)
• Which language(s) you speak
• The period during which the application needs to be finalised
• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider
• If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at our first meeting and clearly meet the applicable Immigration Rules, the cost is likely to be at the lower end of this range.

Scope of services required

A note on value added tax (VAT) – All the figures given below include VAT charged at 20% unless specifically stated. However, charging VAT in relation to immigration matters may depend on where you live and what immigration permission you have. We will confirm whether VAT (at a rate of 20%) is payable when you instruct us, and we can work out if VAT is properly chargeable

Our immigration team includes both solicitors and non-legally qualified professionals, such as paralegals and Chartered Legal Executives.

Excluded costs

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barrister fees (if required). We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

• Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts. These are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary.
• Barrister fees (if required)
• If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses.

Fees are charged by the Home Office for making the application. You will pay this fee to the Home Office directly as part of the application process.

Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal

Other third-party costs such as:

• The Home Office’s commercial partners at overseas Visa Application Centres
• Service charges made by the Home Office’s commercial partner Sopra Steria
• Barrister’s fees (if applicable) are also not included in the above fees and these will be given to a client at the time a suitable application based on a client’s circumstances is identified.
• Independent expert reports e.g. medical experts. These are not required in many cases: we will let you know as soon as possible if we consider an expert report is necessary.
• If there is an interview and we do attend with you, there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses.
• Where the Home Office refuse your application, advice and assistance in relation to any appeal

Scope Of Services

The work we carry out is tailored to the business or individual’s requirements. However, below is a general outline of the scope of our services that is typically involved:

• Taking initial instructions from our client with any follow up discussions as required.
• Carrying out eligibility assessments and determining available immigration options.
• Assessing the documents and information provided by the client; identifying further documents and information required to progress the matter we anticipate will take 2 to 5 hours depending upon the volume of papers provided.*
• where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses.
• Advising our client on their options and evidence gathered.
• If you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how, which on average takes 4 hours.
• Preparing and drafting the relevant application and collating the evidence required, which we anticipate will take an average of 6 – 8 hours.
• Submitting the application to the Home Office, liaising with them (where possible) and keeping our client updated.
• Giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.
• The estimated range of fees may vary based on the complexity of the issue and the specific tasks involved. At the start of any matter, we recommend an evaluation of the matter's complexity.

* the amount of hours depends on the number of documents, whether they need to be translated, whether anything is missing and how long it will take to obtain the missing documents Disbursements (not included in costs set out above).

Duration of matter

The time that it takes from taking initial instructions to the final resolution of a matter depends largely on the particular circumstances involved. Such as:

• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider.
• Whether you are applying with other dependants.
• If you are able to provide sufficient evidence at our first meeting and clearly meet the applicable Immigration Rules, the cost is likely to be at the lower end of this range.
• The processing time required by the Home Office for an application. We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. The Home Office do publish their visa processing time.

We will normally be able to submit this type of application within 4 weeks of you instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this.

Please note the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts above. All applications are likely to vary and of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.