Why immigration applications get refused
In our experience refusals rarely come down to someone not qualifying. Far more often the person did qualify and the application did not prove it.
The Immigration Rules specify not just what you must show but exactly how you must show it — Appendix FM-SE, for instance, prescribes the format, the period and the source of the evidence for family applications in considerable detail. A caseworker applying those rules is not looking for a reason to refuse; they are checking a list. If the specified evidence is not there in the specified form, the answer is no, however obviously true the underlying fact is.
The patterns repeat: payslips that do not match bank statements, a document dated a few days outside the required window, a missing translation, an English language test from a provider that is not approved, a relationship supported by assertion rather than evidence, or a gap in a continuous residence period that could have been explained had anyone been asked to explain it.
None of that is about deserving to be here. It is about paperwork, and paperwork is something a solicitor can genuinely fix.
What we actually do for you
It is worth being concrete, because "help with your visa" covers a wide range of usefulness.
- Tell you which route fits Sometimes the route you have been told to use is not the best one available to you. This is the single most valuable part of a first conversation.
- Build the evidence bundle We tell you precisely which documents, covering which dates, in which format — and we check what you send before it goes anywhere.
- Write the covering submissions Explaining the case and dealing with the weak points openly, rather than hoping the caseworker does not notice them.
- Handle the mechanics The online forms, the fee and health surcharge, biometrics and document upload — the parts where a small error causes a large delay.
- Respond to the Home Office Requests for further information, interviews and, where it comes to it, the refusal.
- Tell you when not to apply If applying now would fail and waiting three months would succeed, that is the advice you get. A refusal on your record is worth avoiding.
How immigration fees work here
There are two separate costs and confusing them is a common and expensive mistake.
Home Office fees are set by the government and paid to them, not to us. They cover the application itself, the Immigration Health Surcharge where it applies, biometrics and any priority service you choose. They change regularly, they can be substantial for a family, and we will tell you what they currently are for your route before you commit to anything.
Our fees are for the legal work: advising on the route, preparing the evidence, drafting the submissions and dealing with the Home Office. They are fixed and agreed in writing before we start. You will not receive an hourly bill you did not expect.
We do not offer No Win, No Fee on immigration work, and neither can anyone else — conditional fee agreements are not permitted for this type of work. If a firm or an adviser offers you one, that on its own tells you something important about them.
Our immigration fees
We publish our fees because the SRA Transparency Rules require it for immigration work, and because you should not have to ask what something costs before you can decide whether to enquire.
These are our legal fees only. They are inclusive of VAT where VAT applies, and they are exclusive of everything payable to the Home Office or to third parties — those are listed underneath and are paid by you directly.
Where a range is shown, where you fall in it depends on the complexity of the case: the number of applicants, how straightforward the evidence is, and whether there is any immigration history to deal with. You get a single figure in writing, not a range, before any work starts.
| Service | Our legal fee (incl. VAT where applicable) |
|---|---|
| Spouse, parent or child entry clearance | £800 – £1,200 |
| Further leave to remain (5-year route) | £800 – £1,000 |
| Indefinite leave to remain (5-year route) | £800 |
| Leave to remain (10-year route, family and private life) | £800 – £1,200 |
| Indefinite leave to remain (10-year route) | £800 |
| Leave to remain outside the Rules | £1,000 – £1,200 |
| Indefinite leave to remain (domestic violence) | £1,000 |
| Naturalisation or registration as a British citizen | £700 |
| Skilled Worker | £800 |
| Student visas | £800 |
| Visit visas | £600 |
| Bail applications | £1,250 |
| Applications against deportation | £1,500 |
| Appeals at the First-tier Tribunal | £1,800 |
Legal fees only. Home Office fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge, biometrics and third-party disbursements are additional and are listed below. Fees correct at August 2026.
What you pay separately
These are not our charges and we do not receive them. They are paid to the Home Office or to third parties, and they are frequently larger than the legal fee — for a family application, considerably larger.
We will tell you what they currently come to for your route and your family before you commit to anything, so you are budgeting for the real total rather than the legal fee alone.
- The Home Office application fee for your route
- The Immigration Health Surcharge, where it applies
- Biometric enrolment fees
- Translation and document certification
- Any expert or medical report the case needs
- Priority or super priority service, if you choose it
Check that whoever advises you is regulated
Immigration advice attracts more unregulated activity than any other area of law we work in, and the people harmed by it are almost always those who can least afford it.
It is a criminal offence to provide immigration advice or services in the UK unless you are regulated — either by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as we are, or by the Immigration Advice Authority, or you fall within a specific exemption. That is not a technicality. A regulated adviser carries compulsory professional indemnity insurance, is subject to enforceable conduct rules, and gives you a complaints route to an independent ombudsman if something goes wrong. An unregulated one gives you none of those, and if they disappear with your fee and your documents you have very little recourse.
So check. We are Manor Row Legal Ltd, SRA number 8012196, and you can verify that on the SRA register in about thirty seconds. Do the same for anyone else you are considering, including a friend of a friend who "knows the forms".