General Advice before Hiring an Immigration Solicitor

It is important to deal with immigration solicitors licensed by the government during the immigration process. Please note that it is not as easy as picking any law firm you like and hoping that they might have immigration lawyers in their employ. 

The immigration law rules are complex and involve international treaties, directives, and laws. If you don’t know what you’re doing, hiring a non-licensed immigration lawyer to handle your immigration case can spell either failure or disaster for your application.

A great place to look for immigration solicitors with good reputations is online through Google or any other search engine. If you want to find a UK immigration solicitor, make sure he has at least three years of experience handling UK immigration cases so that you can be confident they have the knowledge and expertise to represent you.

The immigration solicitor you hire should also be a member of an immigration law organization such as the Law Society or Immigration Lawyers Association. You can check that by visiting their websites and looking for sections related to immigration law.

If you visit an immigration lawyer’s website, make sure it also has immigration videos. Immigration laws are complex and involve many things that might need further clarification through visual means. This is important because immigration lawyers who explain immigration laws in detail will be better lawyers than those who don’t.

Having established all of this, now you want to look at your finances to see if you can afford a UK immigration solicitor. Be ready to pay a decent amount of GBP for a basic application, but other services such as spouse visa application, for example. These things are not cheap, and you will have to cover the application fee and the lawyer’s fee.

There are immigration solicitors who charge a flat fee on immigration applications, such as those for applying for an immigrant visa. The list of immigration solicitors in London can be found by doing a simple Google search. This way, you will know what you’ll likely pay upfront without any unpleasant surprises later. 

Another really important thing is to ensure that your solicitor has qualified with either a law degree or practiced as a solicitor for several years before practicing immigration law, which is different from general law practice and requires additional professional qualifications.

Some immigration solicitors will continue to assist you as your immigration case progresses, and others may just do a quick turnaround on the initial application. Most immigration solicitors tend to be busy, so it is important to ensure that you use them wisely if they are unwilling to deal with any follow-up queries about your immigration status.

Most immigration solicitors will take 10-60% of the visa/immigration application fee, which takes various forms, including an hourly rate, a fixed price per application, a percentage, or some other format, depending on each immigration solicitor’s business model. One immigration solicitor can cost more than another for similar services based on how much they charge, so it’s worth shopping around before committing to a specific individual or firm. You will find immigration solicitors in immigration law firms, departments, or boutiques. 

In this guide, we’ve referred to immigration lawyers and solicitors separately. Although some people use the terms interchangeably (even though they are not quite the same legally), immigration lawyers tend to deal with larger cases that involve a lot of research, analysis, and time. In contrast, immigration solicitors may make simpler applications such as marriage visas or UK Ancestry Visas under £10,000, which can be achieved quickly, like in a couple of days.