The purpose of this Information Note
This note provides only the pricing and service information that our regulator requires us to post to our website in relation to specific immigration law services for individuals. It is not intended to and does not provide comprehensive information about the immigration law services we provide generally. If there are any immigration matters you would like assistance with which are not listed below, or have a query related to business immigration services please do not hesitate to contact us.
Dixcart Legal offers a bespoke immigration service for businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, and for families wishing to relocate to the UK, as well as those who have already made a life for themselves here. No matter where you are currently living, whether you live locally in Surrey, another part of the UK, or abroad, we are always happy to have an initial chat to see if we can assist you. We are able to help with all types of UK immigration applications, at all different “stages” of the process, as well as helping you to apply for British citizenship. In the unfortunate event that you receive a negative decision, we can explore your options and help with challenging the decision. Please contact your usual contact at Dixcart Legal for more information about our immigration law services or email us at hello@dixcartuk.com.
This note covers the following areas and, to assist your reading, we set out below each of the headings used:
- Who will carry out the work
- Information costs for individuals
- Applications to the Home Office
- Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
- Range in our legal costs
- The work we will do for you
- For both applications to the Home Office or appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber
- For appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
- Timeframes
- For applications to the Home Office
- For appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
- Excluded costs (including information about likely third party mandatory costs)
- Excluded services (which will attract additional costs)
Who will carry out the work
Anna Bose carries out the immigration work at Dixcart Legal. Anna is supervised by Anne-Marie Pavitt. Details of their experience and qualifications can be found in their profiles.
We also have 2 paralegals who will assist in the immigration work where appropriate. Our paralegals are not legally qualified but they have between 4 and 20 years’ experience in the legal profession.
Our paralegals always work under the direct supervision of a solicitor.
Information costs for individuals
We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to publish certain pricing information on some of the immigration services we offer to individuals which is set out below.
We have provided below a typical range of our legal costs, exclusive of VAT for full support for a straightforward matter. These costs are based on Anna’s hourly rate (£220 per hour, excluding VAT). We are legally required to charge VAT (currently 20%) on all our legal costs. However, if you live outside the UK, then we are not required to charge you VAT on our legal costs. If you ask us to instruct third-party work on your behalf, we are required to charge you VAT on these costs.
The typical legal costs are based on an application for one individual/ the main applicant only. As we offer bespoke immigration services, the below should be used as a guide only.
Initial Consultation
| Type of consultation | Time | Legal costs (exclusive of VAT) | |
| Initial/ general | Up to 30 minutes | Free | |
| Tailored | Up to 1 hour | £250 |
Applications to the Home Office
| Type of application | Average time to complete work | Average legal costs (exclusive of VAT) | |
| Visitor visa (for all purposes) | 5 – 15 hours | £1,100 to £3,300 | |
| Spouse and Partner visas (including fiancé(e) and proposed civil partners) | 15 – 20 hours | £3,300 to £4,400 | |
| Start-up visa (including former Tier 1 (Graduate Entrepreneur related visa applications) | 20 – 35 hours | £4,400 to £7,700 | |
| Innovator visa (including former Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) related visa applications) | 30 – 45 hours | £6,600 to £9,900 | |
| Global Talent visa (including former Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) related visa applications) | 25 – 45 hours | £5,500 to £9,900 | |
| Tier 1 (Investor) visa | 40 – 60 hours | £8,800 to £13,200 | |
| Skilled Worker visa (including former Tier 2 (General) related visa applications) | 10 – 20 hours | £2,200 to £4,400 | |
| Intra-Company Transfer visa (including former Tier 2 (Intra-company Transfer) related visa applications) | 10 – 20 hours | £2,200 to £4,400 | |
| Child Student/ Student visas (including former Tier 4 student related visa applications – all types) | 10 – 20 hours | £2,200 to £4,400 | |
| T5 (Temporary Worker) visas – all types (including former Tier 5 (Temporary Worker) related visa applications – all types) | 10 – 15 hours | £2,200 to £3,300 | |
| Representative of an Overseas Business (“Sole Rep”) visa | 30 – 45 hours | £6,600 to £9,900 | |
| UK Ancestry | 6 – 20 hours | £1,320 to £4,400 | |
| Pre-settled and Settled Status applications under the EU Settlement Scheme (including paper applications, for example on the basis of “Surinder Singh”/ qualifying British citizen partner) | 3 – 20 hours | £660 to £4,400 | |
| Turkish Worker/ Turkish Businessperson visa applications including Indefinite Leave to Remain (Ankara Agreement) | 15 – 30 hours | £3,300 to £6,600 | |
| Indefinite Leave to Remain (2-5 years) | 15 – 30 hours | £3,300 to £6,600 | |
| Registration/ Naturalisation application to become a British citizen | 10 – 20 hours | £2,200 to £4,400 |
Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
| Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) | Average time to complete work | Average legal costs (exclusive of VAT) |
| Lodging appeal notice, preparing for and representing you at your full hearing | 25 – 45 hours | £5,500 to £9,900 |
Range in our legal costs
Our legal costs are for a straightforward matter. If you provide us with all the information and all the documents we request at the start of the matter, our legal costs will tend to be at the lower/ middle range.
Factors which usually push our legal costs towards the middle/ higher range include (but please note that this is not an exhaustive list):
- the application being submitted from outside the UK (an “Entry Clearance”/ initial visa application) or from inside the UK (an extension/ change of visa application)
- where the matter is urgent
- where information/ documents are not provided to us at the same time
- lengthy/ numerous correspondence and repeat advice
- where further information or documents are requested by other parties
- where the Tribunal directs that further procedures/ hearing(s) are required
- where you wish to request an adjournment (request to reschedule your hearing(s))
Factors which might not make a matter straightforward include (but please note that this is not an exhaustive list):
- where you don’t clearly meet all the requirements
- where you require to rely on concessions/ discretion to be exercised
- where you have previously been refused a visa, have an adverse immigration background, and/or have any criminal history
- where you have civil/ criminal convictions or pending actions
- where your application is time sensitive
In some circumstances a combination of some or all of the above is likely to cause our legal costs to exceed the higher costs range. We would tell you if this was likely to occur.
As each case is different and will depend on your own unique circumstances, we will give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case. Please note the above average number of hours and legal costs are based on the information set out below.
The work we will do for you
For both applications to the Home Office or appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber
When acting for you our work, whether for applications to the Home Office or appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), will include:
- taking your instructions
- discussing your circumstances in detail and exploring what options may be available to you
- giving you advice about the requirements/ rules, whether you meet the criteria and how to proceed if you do not meet the requirements
- advising you on the process, timelines, deadlines, and documents required
- considering the supporting evidence you provide to us, giving feedback, and advising whether additional evidence is required
- liaising with other parties about supporting evidence where necessary
- keeping you updated throughout the process
- correspondence and brief calls
- advising you about the outcome and in the event that your application/ appeal is refused/ dismissed, options which may be available to you
For applications to the Home Office
Specifically in relation to applications to the Home Office, our work will also include:
- preparing your application, including preparing detailed representations, and submitting your application on your behalf
For appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
Specifically in relation to appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), our work will also include:
- lodging an appeal notice/ grounds of appeal
- preparing for your appeal including legal research and sending your bundle of evidence
- taking witness statement(s) from yourself (and other relevant persons where appropriate)
- considering the Home Office’s bundle of evidence
- negotiating with the Home Office (where appropriate)
- representing you/ advocacy at the Tribunal for your full hearing
Timeframes
For applications to the Home Office
As soon as you have provided us with all the required information and documents (in the correct format), we can usually submit your application within 5 working days or sooner.
We have no control over how long the Home Office will take to make a decision on your application. The Home Office have published their processing times for issuing a decision.
For appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
As an appeal is a form of litigation, the speed and length of time required is not wholly within our control and can be subject to the actions of the Home Office and/or Tribunal. It can also depend at which stage of the procedure we have been instructed.
The timetable to lodge your appeal and other documents is dictated by the Tribunal. For example:
- Your appeal notice (in effect to register your intention to appeal) will normally need to be submitted to the Tribunal within 14 days after receiving the Home Office decision refusing your application
- Copies of your bundle of evidence are required to be lodged (sent) to the Home Office and Tribunal, as soon as possible, but usually no later than 7 days before the full hearing. The date of the full hearing is set by the Tribunal and is therefore out of our control.
As you will see the above timeframes are short and in order to meet the deadlines we need your full co-operation, and the co-operation of any third parties whom you engage to provide evidence and/or assistance.
We have no control over how long the Tribunal will take to make a decision on your appeal. The Tribunal will not usually make a decision at the end of your full hearing, and can take between 1 week and 6 months (if not more) to issue a written decision, even if an oral decision is made at the end of your full hearing.
The legal costs set out above do not include any additional costs payable to third parties in connection with your case.
Excluded costs (including information about likely third party mandatory costs)
There are certain mandatory costs which you will usually always have to incur depending on your case, including those set out below. Please click on the links for details of the fees and any VAT which is chargeable:
- Tribunal fees for appeals (and possibly Biometric Enrolment costs if the appeal is successful)
- Costs related to an application to the Home Office such as
- Home Office application fees
- Immigration Health Surcharge fees
- (usually payable in all cases for a visa of more than 6 months validity, except where applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain, or to become a British citizen)
- Biometric Enrolment costs (see above)
- (may be included in the Home Office application fee or paid separately if the application is made by post within the UK)
There may also be certain mandatory costs to use a visa application centre/ Sopra Steria UKVCAS service point, and additional optional services. These costs are usually set by the Home Office’s commercial partners and are in relation to applications to the Home Office. Further information can be found below for:
- Applications submitted OUTSIDE the UK, offered at the visa application centre
- Applications submitted INSIDE the UK offered by Sopra Steria
There may also be other third party costs which you may need to incur (and where VAT may also be charged) depending on your circumstances. Typically, these will include (but not limited to):
- Translators/ interpreters – where your documents are not in English or Welsh/ you don’t speak English – this will vary and can typically range from £30 to £500
- English language test or use of UK ECCTIS services to compare your Bachelor degree or above
- Tuberculosis test – applicants from certain countries only
- Life in the UK Test – applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain and/or to become a British citizen
- Authorities issuing criminal record certificates where required and dependent on the country where the authority is based, for example Tier 1 (Investor) and Skilled Worker – only for certain occupations – this will vary and can typically range from £50 to £100
- Authorities issuing birth certificates, marriage/ civil partnership certificates, divorce certificates, death certificates etc – Costs in England and Wales but likely to vary depending on the country where the authority is based
Excluded services (which will attract additional costs)
The following items are not included in the above legal costs range and will attract additional costs:
- Where dependants are applying
- If you consider that we need to see and advise on documents that are not set out in the detailed list of documents we provide to you, then this extra work would not be covered in the above legal costs range and would involve you incurring additional legal costs, which will be dependent on the number of documents and complexity of the documents
- Where you wish us to chase the Home Office before and/or after the above published processing time has past
- Attendance, travel and waiting time at any interview requested by the Home Office. If you are invited to attend an interview, we will be happy to discuss this with you and/or attend with you. The length and nature of the interview is not within our control, though on average an interview may last anywhere between 1 hour and 8 hours or more. We would therefore simply charge our hourly rate for our travel time, time spent waiting and being engaged at the interview, and travel expenses at cost
- If you wish us to withdraw your application/ appeal, any new work will be subject to additional legal costs
- If your case is refused/ dismissed, whilst we will advise you of the outcome and outline possible options available to you, any subsequent work you instruct us to carry out is not included in the above legal costs range and would be subject to additional legal costs, which we would be happy to discuss with you at the time
- Once we have communicated the Home Office/ Tribunal decision to you, this will bring our service to an end and any subsequent work will be subject to additional legal costs
- Travelling and waiting time at the Tribunal for the full hearing in excess of 5 hours (including the hearing) and/or external meetings, and travel expenses at cost
- Attendance, travel and waiting time for procedural hearings required in addition to the full hearing, although these do not usually happen, and travel expenses at cost
- Attendance, travel and waiting times at any rescheduled hearings, and travel expenses at cost
- Ad hoc (immigration) enquiries not immediately related to your case
- Courier costs, at cost
Version: 4
Effective Date: 12 August 2021
Dixcart Legal Limited
