We will inform you at your introductory meeting how we calculate our charges so our clients have the information they need to make informed choices. Our aim is to offer fair, competitive prices. As a specialist immigration firm, Oaks Solicitors undertakes a broad range of immigration work and we pride ourselves in keeping costs as transparent as possible so that there are no hidden extras. Whenever possible we will work on a fixed fee basis. When the work involved cannot be undertaken on a fixed fee basis, we will give you a detailed breakdown of the estimated total costs, whether these are our own fees or for an external party such as a barrister or expert. These external costs are known as disbursements and we will require your authority first before making these payments.

In litigation matters you may be able to recover your costs from the opposing party if you win your case.

The costs provided below are exclusive of VAT. They also do not include any Home Office fees for making the application or for disbursements such as barristers, medical or country experts, bank charges, photocopying, certification fees and translation fees.

Who will carry out the work?

At Oaks, we work as part of a team, as such work will be carried out by the following fee earners:

• Principal
• Solicitor
• Caseworker assisted by a solicitor
• All work supervised and overseen by Principal

What work is included?

Each application is individual and so the nature of the services provided will differ from case to case. Generally, in each standard application, our services will involve:

• Initial attendance and consideration of the options and assessing most appropriate application (if any) based on client’s circumstance
• Advising on the relevant law, procedures, guidance and specified evidence
• Preparing the application for submission
• Assessing supporting evidence, liaising and advising you and third parties
• Preparing detailed representations
• Further submissions/ providing updates on the progress of your matter until a decision is reached

Timescales

The exact number of hours it will take on each type of application depends on the circumstances in your case. Such as:

• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider and delays in obtaining this
• Which language(s) you speak
• Whether you are applying with other dependants
• Unexpected circumstances or complexities such as past refusals, criminal convictions, immigration history

From the time of instruction, it can take from 1-4 weeks on average to submit your application, depending on the complexity of your case and if you have any immigration history. We will of course keep you updated if the timescales change. We recognise that in some cases there will be a need to expedite the work for example if there is a deadline where a visa is about to expire. We will of course try and work with you on these urgent type cases.

We cannot guarantee how long the Home Office will take to process your application. You can however obtain an indication on the Home Office website.

We have set out this guide as simply as possible and explaining the applications with little legal jargon.