Herschel Law prepares UK visa applications and challenges refusals. Most immigration work is a fixed fee agreed in writing before we start, from £600 plus VAT for a visitor visa and £900 plus VAT for a spouse visa. An initial consultation is from £120 plus VAT for 30 minutes.
Most refusals we see come down to proof. The applicant qualified, but the papers did not show it. The Home Office usually decides on the documents alone, so a gap in the evidence is read as a gap in the case.
For that reason most of our work happens before anything is submitted. We set out what your route requires, build the document list against it and check each item as it arrives. You see the finished application before it goes.
If you have already been refused, the deadline for challenging the decision is running and does not stop while you take advice. We act on appeals for clients across Berkshire, so call us before you do anything else.
The Home Office looks at four things: that the relationship is genuine and continuing, that your income or savings meet the financial requirement, that you have suitable accommodation, and that you meet the English language requirement. The financial requirement is where many applications fail, because the rules on which payslips, bank statements and self-employed accounts count are strict. We build the evidence for each requirement and tell you where it is thin.
If you are already in the UK, the next steps are further leave to remain and then settlement. Each has its own date and its own evidence, and the qualifying rules have been changing, so we check the current requirements for your route before you apply. Missing either date can leave you without lawful status, so do not leave it to the last week.
Entry clearance is an application made from outside the UK. The whole case is decided on the paper file you send, and there is no chance to explain it in person. A weak application usually cannot be repaired after it goes in, which is why we spend the time beforehand. The same applies to children and dependants joining a family member.
A visitor application with thin evidence is refused, and a refusal has to be declared on later applications. At the consultation we tell you where in that range your application falls and what the Home Office will want to see.
A refusal letter is not the end of the matter, but it starts a deadline. We read the decision and work out which route fits: an administrative review, a fresh application or an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal. Then we tell you which has the better prospect. Sometimes a fresh application, with the missing evidence this time, will succeed where an appeal would not.
Applications for release from immigration detention move quickly. Please call rather than email.
Your account is the case, so we take time to record it accurately and test it against the documents before the Home Office sees it. We also gather country and medical evidence and represent you at the substantive interview.
An employer needs a sponsor licence before it can offer a sponsored job, and keeping the licence means keeping records the Home Office can inspect. We act for the employer and for the worker.
The fees below are our professional charges for a standard case. VAT is shown at 20 per cent so you can see the total. Your written quote confirms the fee, itemises the disbursements and says what is included, before any chargeable work begins.
| Service | Our fee | VAT and total |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or partner visa | £900 | £180 VAT; £1,080 total |
| Family visa | £1,500 | £300 VAT; £1,800 total |
| Visitor visa | £600 to £900 | £120 to £180 VAT; £720 to £1,080 total |
| Entry clearance | £1,200 | £240 VAT; £1,440 total |
| EEA application | £1,000 | £200 VAT; £1,200 total |
| Further leave to remain | £1,150 | £230 VAT; £1,380 total |
| Settlement or naturalisation | £1,350 | £270 VAT; £1,620 total |
| Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal | £1,500 | £300 VAT; £1,800 total |
| Administrative review | quoted once we have read the refusal letter | As set out in your written quote |
| Immigration bail | £1,200 | £240 VAT; £1,440 total |
| Asylum claim | £1,800 | £360 VAT; £2,160 total |
| Business immigration | £2,500 | £500 VAT; £3,000 total |
These are starting points for a standard case, not quotations. Where a fee is a range, we tell you at the consultation which end applies to you and why. The full list of published fees is on the pricing page.
These are paid to third parties, are in addition to our fee and are itemised in your written quote.
Our hourly rates are £200 to £350 plus VAT, depending on the seniority of the fee earner. We use it only where a matter cannot be scoped in advance, and we give you an estimated range at the outset. On longer matters we quote each stage separately, so you decide whether to continue at each point.
Each stage below is agreed with you, and you are told what is waiting on whom.
You tell us the history, the route you are on and any deadline you have been given. Bring your passport, any refusal letter and anything the Home Office has sent you. We tell you whether the application is viable and what evidence it needs.
Typical timing: same or next working day.Our client care letter confirms the fee, the Home Office fees payable on top and exactly what is and is not included.
Typical timing: within two working days of the consultation.We send a document schedule for your route and check each item as it arrives. If something is missing or weak we say so at once, while there is still time to fix it. This stage decides most outcomes, and its length depends on how quickly the documents reach us.
We draft the covering representations, assemble the bundle and submit it once you have approved the final application.
Typical timing: five to ten working days once the documents are complete.The Home Office may ask for biometrics or more information while it considers the application. Tell us the day anything arrives, because each request carries its own deadline. Processing times are set by the Home Office.
We tell you the decision as soon as it arrives. If it is a refusal, we set out your options and the deadline for each in writing the same day.
Your matter is handled by a named solicitor, and you are told who before you instruct us. Waqas Sabah, Director and Principal Solicitor, handles matters in this area. He was admitted as a solicitor in 2018, and you can check his entry on the SRA register under SRA number 585809.
You can read more about Waqas on his profile page, or book an initial consultation.
Solicitor — SRA No. 585809
Our fee is £900 plus VAT, £1,080 in total, for a standard spouse or partner visa application. That covers our professional work only. The Home Office application fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge are set by the Home Office and are payable on top. Both are itemised in your written quote so you know the total before you commit.
You usually have three: an administrative review where the Home Office made a casework error, an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal where you have a right of appeal, or a fresh application that corrects the defect. The refusal letter tells you which applies and sets the deadline, so bring it to the consultation.
Our appeal fee is £1,500 plus VAT. Administrative review is quoted once we have read the letter.
Our fee is £1,150 plus VAT for a further leave to remain application and £1,350 plus VAT for settlement. The Home Office fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge are payable on top. They change from time to time, so we put the current figures in your written quote.
Our fee is between £600 and £900 plus VAT, depending on the application. We tell you at the consultation where yours falls and why. The Home Office fee is separate and is set by the Home Office.
It depends on the route, and we give you a schedule for yours. For a partner application the Home Office wants proof of identity, of the relationship, of income or savings and of where you will live.
The usual problem is a document that does not meet the Home Office's own rules, such as bank statements that cover the wrong period. We check each one against the rules as it arrives.
Processing times are set by the Home Office. They differ by route and they change, so we check the published figure for your route at the consultation. Some routes offer a paid priority service, and that fee goes to the Home Office, not to us.
What we control is how quickly your application is ready to submit, and that depends mostly on how fast the documents reach us.
We can advise, although the options are narrower and the deadlines tighter. Tell us the full position at the first meeting, including any dates and anything the Home Office has sent you. We will say what is realistic, even where that is not what you hoped to hear.
A solicitor is a lawyer regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Some immigration advisers are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly OISC, instead and are not solicitors, so check the regulator before you instruct anyone. Herschel Law is a firm of solicitors regulated by the SRA, number 8001050.
No. The decision belongs to the Home Office, and you should be wary of anyone who promises an outcome. What we control is that the application is complete, properly evidenced, clearly argued and submitted in time.
Herschel Law does not currently provide legal aid work, so our immigration work is privately funded at the fixed fees on this page. Civil Legal Advice can tell you if you may qualify for legal aid from another provider.
Bring the refusal letter or your application papers if you have them. We will tell you if you need a solicitor, what it would cost and how much time the deadlines leave you. Call 01753 299611 or send an enquiry through the contact page.
