Exclusive of VAT

• Sponsor license application - standard fee £3,500 for straightforward. With linked entities/global mobility £3,500 - £4,000

• Skilled worker visa application - £1,000 - £1,500

• Senior specialist worker visa - £1,250 - £2,000

• Innovator founder visa - £2,500 - £3,000

• Global expansion visa - £2,000 - £3,000

Personal immigration work

• Spouse/Fiance entry clearance visa - £1,500 - £2,000

• Visa application checking service - £600

• Extension visa for married, fiancé, civil partner - £1,000 - £1,500

• Visit visa - £600

• Student visa - £1,000-£1,250

• Indefinite leave to remain - £1,250 - £1,750

• British Citizenship - £1,250 - £1,750

• Settled/pre-settled status - £600

We can assist your organisation to apply for a sponsor licence to enable you to hire foreign nationals. We offer a full service, or we can provide a review of documents service. As part of this support, we can also carry out a pre-licence audit so that you are aware of the compliance duties required from a sponsor.

We offer a fixed costs audit to ensure that your organisation is complying with its sponsor duties. This includes reviewing your right to work checks to prevent illegal working and your HR systems to confirm that the correct documents are held and processes followed for all employees. This is particularly helpful should the Home Office notify you, or turn up unannounced (as they are permitted to do), that they are attending your business premises to carry out an official audit.

We can provide training for sponsors on a range of compliance issues, including completing right to work checks, navigating the Sponsor Management System and advising on the documents that are required on file for each employee. If you have any specific training requests, we can accommodate these and provide a bespoke session for you.

There are certain policies and procedures that an employer needs to follow when hiring foreign nationals. These include right to work check policies and the monitoring of visa expiry dates. We can review your current policies and advise on their effectiveness, or alternatively we can work with you to produce new documentation.

We can provide a full service offering to assist any of your new hires, whether inside or outside of the UK, and current employees extending their visas with the whole visa application process under the Skilled Worker and Intra-Company Transfer routes. We provide an end-to-end service and can liaise with your employees directly to ensure a smooth process. Alternatively, we can offer an ad hoc review service to assess key documents prior to the visa application submission.

Being a sponsor carries a high level of responsibility - we can provide training and advice on the compliance requirements to ensure that you maintain your A-rating licence.

This visa category is for organisations outside of the UK looking to set up a UK branch and who wish to do this by sending an overseas employee to the UK to establish the business. We can provide a full visa application service to the individual coming to the UK and engage with them directly to obtain their visa.

We would be able to provide further assistance once the overseas representative is in the UK and the organisation then wishes to apply for a sponsor licence in order to hire non-EEA nationals into the business.

The innovator category is for a person seeking to establish a business in the UK based on an innovative, viable and scalable business idea they have generated, or to which they have significantly contributed. The person is also expected to have at least £50,000 to invest in the business and hold a key role in the day-to-day management and development of the business.

We work with endorsing bodies and can put you in contact with them so that you can discuss your eligibility under this route. Endorsement is the first stage in the application process for an innovator visa.

Once you have been endorsed, we can assist you with the second stage of the process by providing a full visa application service which includes reviewing and advising on your documents.

We can represent you in all aspects of immigration law and various visa applications all on a fixed fee basis with flexible payment terms so you clearly know the cost in advance. We will not only advise you about the immigration rules that have to be met in order to make successful applications, we will also advise about the application process.

We provide professional immigration advice and legal representations concerning all types of Family Visa routes,

We provide:

• Complete Case Assessment

• List of documents

• Reviewing the Documents

• Complete application Handling

• Cover Letter on our Letterhead

• Booking Biometric Appointment

• Responding to UK Visas and Immigration queries

• Receiving the decision on the application

Spouse visa

A Spouse visa allows the applicant to live together with a British partner in the UK for up to 30 months. After this the visa can be extended for another 30 months This visa leads to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) i.e. settlement after 5 years of residence in the UK. You will thereafter be eligible for British Citizenship To apply for the spouse visa you must satisfy the following:

Have met your partner and are not in a prohibited degree of relationship, be married to, or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, UK settled person or UK refugee, provide proof that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship, meet specific financial conditions currently set at £18600 gross per annum.

We can help you in switching from an another visa to the Spouse visa or successfully moving from the 10 year route to the 5 year route.

Fiancé Visa

A Fiancé Visa allows you to come to the UK to marry your partner who is either a British citizen, settled in the UK, or has been granted refugee status/humanitarian protection.

This Visa is usually granted for a period of up to 6 months. Within the 6 months you must marry your fiancé or enter into a civil partnership with your partner. Once married or entered civil partnership ceremony you must apply for a UK Spouse Visa.

An applicant must meet the following requirements for a Fiancé Visa:

You and your partner must be 18 or over, you must intend to marry or enter into a civil partnership and must have met in person, you must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship, you must show that you have adequate accommodation in the UK, you and your partner must meet Financial requirements, you must meet the English Language requirements.

Unmarried Partners

This route is for partners who have been in a long term relationship with British citizens, settles person, persons with settled or pre settled status, refugee stats or humanitarian protection who wish to join or stay with their unmarried partner in the UK.

This visa is a route to settlement after 5 years of residence in the UK with your unmarried partner. An applicant must meet the following requirements for an unmarried partner visa;

You and your partner must be 18 or over, you must have lived continuously with your partner for at least two years, you must prove that you are in a genuine and subsisting relationship, you must intend to live with your partner permanently in the UK, you must show that you have adequate accommodation in the UK, you must meet Financial requirements, you meet the English Language requirement.

Naturalisation and Child registration for British Citizenship

If you have obtained Indefinite leave to remain in the UK, than you may be entitled to apply for naturalisation as a British Citizen. You will have to meet the following requirements;

• You are over 18 years old at the point of applying

• You will continue to live in the UK

• You have passed the 'Life in the UK' Test

• You will need to show that you have, as a minimum and depending on your immigration status resided in the UK for 5 years and in possession of ILR for at least 12 months

• You will need to show that in the last five years you have not been outside the UK for more than 450 days and 90 days within the last 12 months

• You have had indefinite leave to remain for the last 12 months

• You will need to show that you have not broken any immigration laws in the UK

• You are of a good character and sound mind

EU Settlement Scheme Applications (EUSS)

If you haven't or were unable to make an application under the EUSS scheme before the deadline of 30 June 2021

You can still apply if either:

• the deadline for you to apply is after 30 June 2021

• you have 'reasonable grounds' for why you did not apply by the deadline

If you already have pre-settled status, you can still apply for settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme. You must apply before your pre-settled status expires.

The Health and Care Visa is a relatively new visa category which is specifically created for overseas medical professionals who intend to come and work for the NHS, an NHS supplier or in the adult social care sector. This visa category can lead to settlement after 5 years of residence in the UK and applicant can apply for their dependents (partners and children).

The Health and Care Visa is only open to qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who will be working in eligible roles in the UK health sector. The Home Office has given some concession to applicants as they pay a reduced visa fees and are also not required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).

The Health and Care Visa is valid for up to 5 years, after this time you can apply to extend it should you wish to continue working in the UK. Providing that you continue to meet the eligibility requirements then you can extend your Health and Care visa as many times as you like. If you want to make the UK your permanent home then you may also be eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after residing in the country for at least 5 years.

In order to qualify for the Health and care visa, you will need to satisfy the following requirements:

You are aged 18 or over; You are a qualified doctor, nurse, health professional or adult social care professional; You work or will work in an eligible health or social care job, which falls within the list of approved occupation codes; You work or will work for a UK health and care sector employer that has been approved by the Home Office; You have a valid 'certificate of sponsorship' from your employer with information about the role you have been offered; You are competent in the English language to at least CEFR Level B1 (equivalent to IELTS 4.0); You will be paid the minimum salary or the 'going rate' for the type of work you will be doing, whichever is higher; You have enough money to support yourself without relying on public funds; You have provided a criminal record certificate; and You have provided a valid TB certificate (if from a listed country).

You will need to deal with this situation very carefully and be certain the employee does not have the right of work before taking further action. You will still need to follow a fair process and ensure that if you are terminating employment that the dismissal falls within the band of reasonable responses and you have a fair reason for dismissal.

Going forwards, you should ensure that proper record-keeping and monitoring processes are in place, to identify when immigration permissions will expire, be aware of the circumstances that could lead to an employee losing their right to work in the UK and put procedures in place to prevent illegal working.

Please ensure that you contact us for specific legal advice if you find yourself in this situation.

From 1 January 2021, in most circumstances, employers wanting to recruit EEA nationals will need a Sponsorship Licence. The same applies if you wish to employ NON-EEA nationals from elsewhere in the world.

Anyone that an employer recruits from outside the UK for the Skilled Worker route will need to demonstrate that:

• they have a job offer from a Home Office licensed sponsor;

• they speak English at the required level;

• the job offer is at the required skill level of RQF3 or above (equivalent to A level);

• that they will be paid at least £25,600 or the "going rate" for the job offer, whichever is higher.

The Worker Licence is divided into four different categories:

• Skilled Worker

• Intra Company Transfer

• Sportsperson

• Minister of Religion

The application is done via an online form. You need to pay a fee when you apply. The fee depends on the type of licence you're applying for and what type of organisation you are. Most applications (8 out of 10) are dealt with in less than 8 weeks. UKVI may need to visit your business.

If you need assistance completing a sponsorship licence application, we are able to advise further on the process and supporting documentation needed.

Updated guidance has been published on the documents which sponsor licence holders must retain for their sponsored workers. These documents are outlined in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance. Although the Resident Labour Market Test has not been a requirement for sponsorship from[AS1] 1 December 2020, the updated guidance details that evidence of the recruitment activity undertaken must be retained for all sponsored migrants from this date or reasons why a recruitment process was not conducted.

All documents must be retained for the duration of the migrant's sponsorship as well as for at least one year thereafter or until a UKVI audit has reviewed them (if earlier). This retention requirement will take precedence over other GDPR policies.

Please contact us if you have further questions regarding this.

For EU citizens who are currently living and/ or working in the UK, the Government guidance emphasises that it is the responsibility of the employee to complete a Settlement Scheme application and ensure this is in place by 30 June 2021. However, you should ensure that you are familiar with key dates to enable to you to carry out effective right to work checks and follow up checks.

UK nationals no longer have an automatic right to move to work within the European Union and similarly, EU nationals hoping to come to work in the UK no longer benefit from this right.

Whilst the specific rules will depend on the EU27 country being visited, visa-free travel will generally only be possible for UK passport holders for a limited number of permitted business activities. This is likely to cover business meetings with colleagues, clients, or customers, attending conferences and exhibitions connected with trade, industry or work and providing services (even with a charity). However, even in these circumstances, travel will be limited to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa.

On 10 December 2020, the UK Government published guidance on the new Frontier Worker Permit. This is for those Europeans based outside the UK but who travel to the UK to work if they have not already obtained status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

From 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021, frontier workers will be able to enter the UK and carry on their activities without a permit or visa. From 1 July 2021 onwards, they will be required to present a frontier worker permit or other visa permission under UK law, to evidence their right to work in the UK.

Frontier workers can apply now from outside of the UK. They can also apply now from inside the UK if they use the 'UK Immigration: ID check' app. Otherwise they will need to wait until 22 January 2021 to apply online from within the UK.

For further information on eligibility and the application process, please contact us.

The Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) visa is no longer available if you do not already live in the UK. If you want to set up or run a business in the UK you might be able to apply for an Innovator visa or a Start-up visa. There are a number of eligibility requirements that we can advise on further.

You can be penalised if you employ somebody who does not have the right to work in the UK and you did not do the correct checks, or you did not do them properly.

If Home Office officials determine that the correct right to work checks were not carried out, the employer may be issued with a ‘Referral Notice’ which means their case will be sent to the Home Office for further consideration. As a result of this process, the employer may receive a Civil Penalty Notice.

A Civil Penalty Notice will be issued when the Home Office believes an employer is liable for a civil penalty for employing one or more individuals who do not have the right to work in the UK or who are working in breach of their conditions of stay. The Civil Penalty Notice will outline how much the employer must pay (up to £60,000) and the date by which it must be paid along with how they can object to the Civil Penalty Notice.

Recently, we assisted a client who wanted to challenge the Civil Penalty Notice and was facing a fine of £55,000 for allegedly employing an illegal worker.

As such, the client faced a deadline of 10/09/2024 to lodge an appeal against this decision, if the appeal was not lodged the client would have to pay the fine in full. The client came to us on 09/09/2024 seeking our services and we had lodged the appeal in the County Court by 10/09/2024.

If you have been issued with a Referral Notice or Civil Penalty Notice, our Immigration experts can offer advice and provide support with the process of preparing the bundle and lodging an appeal with the court.