Pro Bono Immigration Work

The Solicitors Regulation Authority requires firms providing immigration advice to publish certain information on their website. We generally only provide advice relating to the preparation and submission of immigration applications to individuals on a pro bono basis.

There are two types of costs that you might be asked to pay when you instruct a lawyer to help you with an immigration matter:

• fees for the time of the lawyer(s) involved; and
• any expenses that we have made in relation to your matter, where we have paid another person or organisation (such as the Home Office) on your behalf (these are called "disbursements").

Fees

Where we provide immigration advice to individuals on a pro bono basis, we will not charge fees for our work at any stage of the matter.

Disbursements

We may incur disbursements when providing our services to you. If we need to make a payment that we will need you to pay back to us, then we will talk to you first and get your permission. We do not usually need to do this, and we would only do so in rare cases. In such cases we would pass on the cost of the disbursement to you (inclusive of any VAT charged by the third party supplier of the services or goods to which the disbursements relate).

You should be aware that the pro bono assistance we provide to you does not include the payment of any Home Office Fees for making the application. You will either pay this to the Home Office directly as part of the application process, or in some cases, we may assist you in preparing a fee waiver application.

What services are included

We will not charge you at any stage of the process of your immigration application, including:

• discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate application for you to make and what other options may be available to you;
• giving you advice about the requirements of the Immigration Rules or citizenship laws and whether you meet the criteria;
• if you do not fulfil certain criteria, whether this can be overcome and how;
• considering the supporting evidence you have provided;
• where necessary, helping you obtain further evidence (such as medical records and bank statements), including taking statements of any witnesses;
• preparing your application and submitting it on your behalf; and
• giving you advice about the outcome of the application and any further steps you need to take.

How long will my application take?

The length of time it will take to assist you with your application will vary and depends on the circumstances in your case. Such as:

• The factual and legal complexity of the case and whether the application is compliant with the relevant law.
• The amount of supporting evidence that we need to consider.
• Which language(s) you speak.
• Whether you are applying with other dependants.
• The level of contact the case requires with yourself and the number of enquiries you have during the course of your case.

We cannot guarantee how long an application may take to be processed by the Home Office.

The Home Office has published some information regarding how long it will take to receive a decision on some types of immigration applications. Please see further information published by the Home Office regarding (a) visa processing times; and (b) asylum applications.

The experience and qualifications of those carrying out the work

Details of the experience and qualifications of all those who will work on your case will be shared with you at the beginning of your engagement with us. Only suitably qualified lawyers and trainee solicitors will work on your case., with appropriate supervision by an external immigration solicitor. Please note that such immigration solicitors are qualified solicitors with appropriate immigration expertise employed by third parties (i.e. Ashurst's pro bono partners).