Staff, Fee & Complaints Transparency

A number of staff may be involved in the conduct of your matter. The following mini-bios provide an at-a-glance view of our staff, their qualifications and experience, and who they are supervised by.

Gazala Rashid, Director and Solicitor

Gazala Rashid is the founder and Director of UK Migration Lawyers. She has extensive experience in both legal aid and private immigration work.

Gazala qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and has experience across a number of areas of law including crime, family, professional negligence, immigration, asylum and human rights. Gazala's vision for UK Migration Lawyers was to create an accessible platform for clients to receive quality, affordable specialist immigration advice nationwide. UK Migration Lawyers has grown into a centre of excellence with a team focused on immigration and nationality law.

Ross Little, Practice Manager

Ross looks after the day-to-day running of UK Migration Lawyers and various associated activities including operations, IT and marketing. Ross has a Masters in Business from the University of St Andrews and brings commercial and operational experience gained in both the legal and academic sectors.

Harris Qadir, Immigration Caseworker

Harris Qadir has been working as an immigration caseworker for over 3 years. Harris has a degree in Law from Birmingham City University. Harris works across a range of immigration matters, including applications under EU law, indefinite leave to remain, further leave to remain and naturalisation applications.

Cece Haji, Consultant Immigration Solicitor

Cece has worked with UK Migration Lawyers for mmany years and qalified as a solicitor three years ago whilst with the firm.

Mariah Nawaz, Immigration Solicitor

Mariah has also been with UK Migration Lawyers for many years and qshe qualified as a solicitor with us in 2024

Our Fees and Price Transparency

The table below shows indicative fee ranges for the main services and application types that we offer. Unless stated otherwise, these figures are our professional legal fees only and do not include VAT or third-party payments such as Home Office fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, court or tribunal fees, interpreter fees, translation fees, expert reports, medical reports, counsel's fees, courier fees or priority service fees.

The fee quoted for an individual matter will depend on the scope and complexity of the work required. Factors that may affect the fee include:

• The urgency of the matter and whether work is required at short notice.
• The volume and quality of the evidence available.
• Whether the application is straightforward or raises unusual legal, factual or evidential issues.
• Whether there are previous refusals, overstaying, absences, criminal convictions, allegations of deception, adverse immigration history or other good character issues.
• Whether the matter requires senior solicitor input, additional legal research, detailed representations, further evidence, or advice from counsel or another specialist.
• Whether you require a limited-scope service or a full application preparation and submission service.
• Whether your instructions, circumstances or the applicable immigration rules change during the matter.

If additional work is required outside the agreed scope of a fixed fee, we will discuss this with you before carrying out that additional work where reasonably possible. Additional work may be charged at our hourly rates. Our hourly rates are currently £250 per hour for junior staff and £500 per hour for senior staff. VAT may be payable in addition depending on the VAT position explained below.

We are aware that legal fees can be significant. In appropriate cases, we may agree staged payments. We reserve the right not to submit or complete any application until our agreed fees and any required third-party payments have been paid.

VAT

Where the applicant, client or the beneficiary of the work is normally resident in the UK, our fees will usually attract VAT at the prevailing rate, currently 20%. Where the applicant, client or beneficiary is normally resident outside the UK, VAT may not be payable. VAT rules are complex and depend on the place of supply and the circumstances of the client and matter. HMRC guidance is available at VAT Notice 741A, section 3. We will confirm the VAT position when we provide your quote.

Disbursements and third-party costs

Disbursements are costs payable to third parties. We usually ask clients to pay these directly where possible. They are not included in our professional fees unless we expressly say otherwise in writing.

Home Office and other government fees change regularly. You should check the current official fees before deciding whether to proceed. Useful GOV.UK links include:

• UK visa and immigration fees: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-visas-and-immigration-fees
• Home Office visa fee tool: https://visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk/
• Immigration Health Surcharge: https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application/how-much-pay
• Visa processing times: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/visa-processing-times

Depending on the matter, possible disbursements or third-party costs may include the following. Where a figure is stated, it is provided as an indication only and should be checked before the cost is incurred:

• Home Office application fees. These vary by application type and change regularly. Current fees should be checked using the GOV.UK links above. These fees are generally not subject to VAT.
• Immigration Health Surcharge. This varies depending on the type and length of leave sought and should be checked using the GOV.UK link above. This is generally not subject to VAT.
• Biometric appointment fees or application centre fees. Free standard appointments may be available, but paid appointments and enhanced services vary depending on the appointment type, location, provider and availability. We will ask you to check the current cost before booking or incurring the fee.
• Priority or super priority service fees, where available. Priority visa services are usually £500 and super priority services are usually £1,000, in addition to the application fee, where available and eligible (at the time of writing). These services are not available for every application type and can change or be withdrawn.
• Interpreter fees. These commonly depend on language, location, availability and length of appointment. As an indication, these may range from approximately £50 to £500 plus VAT where applicable.
• Translation fees. These depend on language, volume, urgency and whether certification is required. As an indication, these may range from approximately £30 to £300 plus VAT where applicable, but can be higher for large or urgent bundles.
• Independent expert reports. These depend on the expert, the issues, the evidence and urgency. As an indication, these may range from approximately £500 to £3,000 plus VAT where applicable.
• Medical expert reports. These depend on the expert, the examination required and the complexity of the report. As an indication, these may range from approximately £500 to £5,000 plus VAT where applicable.
• Counsel's fees, where advice or representation from a barrister is required. These depend on seniority, complexity, urgency and whether attendance at a hearing is required. As an indication, these may range from approximately £750 to £5,000 plus VAT where applicable.
• Court or tribunal fees. These are set by the relevant court or tribunal and may change. First-tier Tribunal immigration appeal fees are usually £80 for a decision without a hearing and £140 for a decision with a hearing (at the time of writing). Some appeal types are exempt and fee remission may be available. There is currently no fee to appeal to the Upper Tribunal in immigration and asylum cases (at the time of writing). We will confirm the applicable fee before it is incurred.
• Courier, postage or document delivery costs. These depend on weight, destination, urgency and provider. As an indication, these may range from approximately £10 to £150 plus VAT where applicable.

Where a third-party cost is required and the precise amount is not known in advance, we will provide an estimate or obtain a quote where reasonably possible before the cost is incurred. Government application fees and Immigration Health Surcharge are generally not subject to VAT. Other third-party services, such as interpreters, translators, experts, medical experts, couriers and counsel, may attract VAT at the prevailing rate, currently 20%, depending on the supplier and the service provided.

What our work includes

Unless we agree a limited-scope service with you, our standard application preparation service usually includes opening your file, carrying out legal and conflict checks, taking instructions, advising on the requirements of the relevant route, providing a document checklist, reviewing supporting documents, advising on evidential issues, preparing legal representations where appropriate, preparing or reviewing the application form, advising on submission, and advising on the outcome when received.

What our work does not include

• Home Office, tribunal, court or other third-party fees.
• Interpreter, translation, expert, medical expert, courier or counsel's fees.
• Appeals, administrative reviews, judicial reviews or further representations following a refusal, unless expressly included in our written agreement with you.
• Unexpected or non-standard work caused by a change in your instructions or circumstances.
• Work required because information or documents were inaccurate, incomplete, late, withheld or changed after we were instructed.
• Advice on tax, benefits, employment, housing, criminal, family or other non-immigration issues unless expressly agreed.

Key stages and typical timescales

The time needed to prepare a matter depends on the type of application, the complexity of the issues, the urgency of the matter and how quickly complete supporting evidence is provided. In a standard application, we will usually aim to complete our preparation work within 2 to 12 weeks of receiving full instructions and supporting documents. Urgent matters may be prepared more quickly where possible, but urgent work may increase the fee because it can require work to be prioritised or undertaken at short notice.

Typical stages are as follows:

• Initial file opening, identity checks, conflict checks and initial review: usually 1 to 5 working days.
• Taking instructions and advising on the relevant immigration route: usually 1 to 10 working days, depending on availability and urgency.
• Evidence gathering: usually 1 to 8 weeks, depending largely on how quickly documents and information are provided and whether third-party evidence is required.
• Document review and further advice: usually 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the volume and quality of the evidence.
• Preparation of application forms, legal representations and supporting bundle: usually 1 to 4 weeks, depending on complexity and urgency.
• Client review, approval and final amendments: usually 1 to 10 working days.
• Submission: usually within 1 to 5 working days once the application is approved and all required fees and disbursements have been paid.
• Home Office, tribunal or court decision: this is outside our control and depends on the application type, service selected and current Home Office, tribunal or court timescales.

Home Office decision times are outside our control. They vary by application type, country of application, service standard, priority service availability and Home Office workload. You should check the current GOV.UK processing time guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/visa-processing-times.

Here follows our standard fee structure.

Complaints Procedure Transparency Information

We take complaints at UK Migration Lawyers seriously. We want our clients to be satisfied with the service they receive. If something has gone wrong, we want to understand what happened, investigate it properly, and try to resolve the issue where possible.

If you wish to make a formal complaint, you should do so in writing to Ross Little, Practice Manager, and/or Gazala Rashid, Director. They may be contacted as follows:

Ross Little / Gazala Rashid
Practice Manager / Director
UK Migration Lawyers
39 George Road
Birmingham
B15 1PL

Email: [email protected] and/or [email protected]

Formal Complaints Procedure

Step One

Once we are in receipt of your full and final complaint, we will send confirmation to you within one calendar week. The formal complaints procedure will then be deemed to have begun. You should ensure that your complaint fully details the issues that you wish to complain about so that the process can be conducted thoroughly and expeditiously.

If you have previously provided your grounds of complaint to us in writing, you will be afforded one calendar week from receipt of our complaints procedure to add any additional grounds and/or confirm that you wish to proceed to Step Two. If no additional grounds or confirmation are received during this timeframe, we will proceed to Step Two using the grounds already received and will confirm the deemed commencement date of your formal complaint.

Please note that once you have provided us with your written full and final complaint, it may not be possible to raise further issues or grounds as part of the same formal complaint.

Step Two

Within four calendar weeks of confirmation that Step One is complete, we will investigate the grounds of complaint that you have raised. This may involve reviewing your matter file and speaking to the members of staff concerned with the conduct of your matter.

Once the investigation is complete, we will provide you with a detailed written response including, where applicable, any proposed solution.

If, for some reason, we cannot complete the investigation and provide you with a detailed response within the expected timeframe, we will write to you to explain why and provide a revised timescale.

Upon receipt of our detailed response, you will have two calendar weeks to confirm whether you are satisfied with our findings. If no confirmation is received during that timeframe, we will consider this an indication that you do not wish to pursue the matter further and the formal complaints procedure will be deemed complete.

Step Three

We have eight weeks to consider your complaint from the commencement of the formal complaints procedure.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you remain dissatisfied after our final response, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.

The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them:

• within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint; and
• no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
• no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman's contact details are:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Relay UK: 18001 0300 555 0333
Overseas: +44 121 245 3050

A complaint can be made to the SRA if it relates to the professional conduct of UK Migration Lawyers. Further information is available on the SRA's website at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/. The SRA can be contacted by telephone on 0370 606 2555, by email at [email protected], or by post at SRA Report, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.