Frequently asked questions about immigration lawyers and solicitors
What to do when a UK visa application is refused?
Whether you are an individual, business, or family member, receiving a negative decision on your visa or settlement application from the Home Office can be distressing. We receive many calls each day from people in this situation, and we assure them that in most cases, it is possible to find a solution. Refusals are issued by the Home Office for a wide range of reasons. In some cases, the adverse decision may be incorrect and can be challenged through the process of ‘administrative review’. In other cases, it may be prudent to submit a new application. It may also be possible to bring an appeal to the First-Tier or Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), and in limited circumstances, a judicial review whereby a judge will determine whether the Home Office acted lawfully when refusing the application.
We first recommend gathering all of the documents, correspondence, and emails regarding your matter to date. Then speak to an immigration Solicitor who can rapidly assess your situation and recommend a course of action.
At Reiss Edwards, our team of immigration lawyers will look to determine the exact reason for your refusal and your appeal rights. Having analysed the situation, our Solicitor will outline your options and help you to decide which to choose. There is often a deadline for bringing an appeal or administrative review, hence time is of the essence. No matter what the circumstances, please be assured that in most cases, there is a great deal we can do to turn your negative decision.
Can you provide more information about your team of immigration lawyers?
It takes a wide range of skills and qualities to become a highly effective immigration Solicitor in London. We select only the very best immigration law talent to ensure the highest levels of legal advice and service is provided to our clients. Led by our Director and Senior Associate, Amar Ali, our team are experts in the field of immigration law and have been cited by the University of Cambridge, and the foremost legal information firm in the world, Lexis Nexis.
When hiring a new associate, senior associate, or caseworker to join our team, we look for a number of different ingredients. In addition to their legal qualifications and education, we also take into account their experience with other law firms, whether they have a particular passion for helping others through their immigration law expertise, any community or ‘pro-bono’ work they have undertaken, and whether they have contributed to legal research.
While it is not always an essential factor in who we choose to join our team, the educational attainment of some of our top immigration Solicitors is highly compelling. Joe Thai Duy Dinh, one of our Senior Associates, has an LLB with Honours, and a Masters from Kings College London, while our Director and Senior Associate, Amar Ali, has an LLB law degree with First-Class Honours.
We also look for other qualities which we consider vital; the willingness to work hard on behalf of their clients, caring for the interests of clients and their family members, a sharp eye for the smallest of details, and a keen ear for listening. We also encourage our team members to have a rich life outside of work, whether this is with their family, enjoying hobbies and interests, or travelling. This is vital in ensuring that when they engage with a client, they are able to bring their ‘A-game’ on their behalf.
Reiss Edwards also believes in the power of the team. For this reason, we select Solicitors who can add to our collective knowledge and experience, enabling each member of staff to benefit from a wider pool of expertise and skills.
Is hiring an immigration solicitor based in central London cheaper or more expensive than hiring from other parts of the UK?
Understandably, there is a perception that hiring a London based Solicitor may be more expensive than one in another part of the UK. For this reason, we always ensure that our fees are competitive when compared nationally. This ensures that you can benefit from the top-level immigration expertise and experience from a London based Solicitor without necessarily paying more than you would locally.
It is also important to bear in mind how much you can save by securing your immigration decision quickly and on the first attempt. The cost of having to apply a second or third time due to mistakes made in your application can be considerable, especially if applying for one of the more expensive visa types or for several people in your family. Indeed, it may be possible to find a cheaper immigration Solicitor, but rather like any other profession, you can expect the level and quality of service you receive to be reflected in that lower price. For this reason, we don’t compete with the lowest cost immigration firms because we hire the very best immigration lawyers in the country to represent you in your matter.
At Reiss Edwards, we firmly believe that the best legal advice should not be reserved only for those who can afford to pay. We always ensure our fees are fair, and these are fully explained right from the start, so you know exactly what to expect. You can be assured that the fee you are quoted at the start is what you will pay at the end. If you request us to undertake additional work on your behalf during your case, we will outline the cost of doing so, enabling you to make a decision whether to proceed. As such, you are always in control.
What are the benefits of hiring an immigration lawyer / law firm based in London?
Whether you need immigration law guidance for yourself, your family, or your business, finding a Solicitor who will complete your matter effectively and efficiently is essential. Being based in London provides our clients with a number of immediate advantages, including:
- Reiss Edwards is in the heart of London’s legal district, meaning we are close to many of the courts and institutions which influence immigration law and cases.
- For our entrepreneurial, start-up, and global talent visa applicants, we can easily engage with endorsing bodies, and large, influential businesses and investors on your behalf.
- The immigration Upper Tier Tribunal is only a five-minute walk from our offices. This is especially convenient when lodging appeal documentation, Judicial Review applications and attending the Upper Tier Tribunal for Appeal hearings. If a deadline is fast approaching, the location of our offices helps save valuable time.
- For our investment clients, as we are close to London’s financial hub, we can introduce you to many of the UK’s top financial and banking firms.
- We regularly enlist the services of many of the top barristers in London who we can employ if your matter proceeds to court.
Being in central London in the very epicentre of law in the UK means we play a key role in shaping best practice and furthering our profession. In addition, having such a wealth of top law firms in our immediate vicinity means that we are always ‘raising our game’ to provide ever improved levels and quality of service. Rather like other professions such as medicine and finance, the concentration of expertise within the capital means that clients come to the firms in London because they want the best service available, and want to know the outcome of their matter is all but assured. Our London-based immigration Solicitors are adept at taking on and successfully concluding the most complex or urgent cases on behalf of their UK-based or international clients.
How quickly can your lawyers process and submit my UK visa application?
We are often contacted by new and existing clients with urgent visa requirements. It may be that an employer needs a new worker to start work as soon as possible, an intra-company transfer visa is urgently needed to kick-start a new project in the UK, an investor who needs to take advantage of a new and emerging investment opportunity, or a family member who needs to come to the UK to support or care for a loved one. Even if your matter is not necessarily urgent, we know that you will want your visa as soon as possible to enable you to come to the UK, or if already here, to continue to stay.
While we cannot provide a fixed timescale for when your visa application in the UK will be submitted, we can offer the following reassurance:
- When you instruct our services, we will allocate one of our immigration Solicitors in London to your case immediately, to allow them to start progressing your application without delay.
- We will recommend the use of priority and super-priority services where they are available – this can reduce the time taken to secure a decision from months to a matter of hours.
- We have refined our operational approach to reduce the amount of time it takes to gather all of the information required, draft your application, and ensure it is quality reviewed prior to submission.
- Where we can foresee a delay in making your application (for example if you need to provide a document from your home country which may take several weeks to arrive and/or be translated), we will look at all possible alternative ways of satisfying the Home Office’s evidence requirements. This is where our detailed knowledge of how the Home Office case officer will handle your application becomes invaluable. Where necessary, we can speak to the Home Office to verify that any alternatives will be acceptable on your behalf. Taking this pragmatic approach can reduce the time to the submission of your application considerably.
- Our digital workflow technology ensures the maximum amount of efficiency when dealing with your matter, allowing your documents to be quickly gathered, and eliminating any gaps in the application preparation stage.
- Where necessary, our team will pool their collective resources and expertise to expedite a particularly complex or time-consuming matter.
It is also important to note that it is not just the time to the submission of your application which is important. We also ensure that the time taken to process your immigration request is kept to a minimum by ‘front loading’ all of the information which could possibly be needed by the Home Office, including providing detailed covering letters where needed. Each time a Home Office case officer has to request more information delays your application, hence we always work to eliminate any such occurrences. By engaging one of our immigration Solicitors in London, you relax in the knowledge that your immigration application will be brought to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible. Where any delays are caused by the Home Office, we will push them to expedite your case, and keep in regular contact with them to ensure this happens.
Can your immigration lawyers help if my visa application has been delayed?
In some cases, visa and settlement applicants may experience excessive delays in receiving a decision from the Home Office. This may be as a result of a poorly prepared application which leaves lots of questions unanswered and requires additional information in order to be assessed, or it may be solely down to poor performance or mistakes by the Home Office. Understandably, migrants in this situation may feel powerless and that there is little they can do to speed up the process, especially where they do not understand the rules, or have confidence in speaking English. This is where an immigration lawyer based in London can be invaluable.
Even if you have already submitted your application, you can still instruct us to represent you. If you do so, we will immediately contact the Home Office on your behalf to determine the reason for any delays. Because of our experience and expertise of the immigration process, we understand which questions to ask and what to say to the Home Office to ensure the earliest possible resolution. We understand the timescales which case officers are supposed to adhere to, and the steps they are required to take when processing a visa or settlement application, and hence can quickly assess whether the reason for any delay is the fault of the Home Office or due to other factors. Having identified the reason for any problems, we will agree on a plan of action with the Home Office to enable the resumption of your application’s processing.
Any actions or steps which are needed to get the assessment of your application back underway will quickly be completed by your immigration Solicitor, and the Home Office will be advised of the progress made. We will then stay in regular contact with the Home Office to ensure your matter is then brought to a timely conclusion.
By taking control of your application and pushing the Home Office to resolve your matter, you can relax in the knowledge that there will be no further delays.
Do your lawyers in London offer immigration audit services for UK businesses?
Yes, our business immigration Solicitors in London specialise in all aspects of Home Office sponsor license compliance, including providing comprehensive auditing and mock auditing services. We have seen at first hand over many years that many UK businesses and higher education establishments which are highly reliant on their sponsor license to hire non-UK staff and educate non-UK students are not sure if they are compliant with their sponsor duties. This means that if they receive a visit from a Home Office compliance officer, which are often unannounced, they may have their license revoked, suspended, or downgraded. If this does happen, they are then unable to continue to recruit from outside of the UK, and existing migrant workers are at risk of losing their visa status. Many businesses make the mistake of believing that if they are assessed as being compliant when they first applied for their license, they always will be. This is not the case, as if poor working practices are inadvertently introduced, this can lead to non-compliance. Indeed, compliance is an ongoing process.
As part of the sponsor license process, to remain compliant, your business will need to:
- Report key events to the Home Office within a set timescale (e.g. if a new migrant worker does not arrive for work on their first day, or if they take a long unauthorised absence)
- Keep records on candidates you have interviewed.
- Nominate key staff to liaise with the Home Office and update the Sponsor Management System (SMS)
- Only sponsor migrant workers for eligible roles.
- Keep records on your migrant workers – including their latest contact details, immigration status, professional registration status, and right to work.
- Ensure that anyone you hire from outside the UK has the skill level to perform the role for which they are being sponsored.
It is vital that from the outset, your business puts in place people, processes, and systems to keep up with your sponsor duties. At Reiss Edwards, we have helped hundreds of companies, small, medium, and large, to do exactly this. By engaging us early on, we can ensure that you have the foundations necessary to make fulfilling your sponsor duties easy and efficient. This makes ongoing compliance with the Home Office sponsor license duties a matter of formality.
Even if you have all of the correct components in place to ensure your ongoing compliance, it is recommended that you have regular unscheduled audits carried out by an external third-party. At Reiss Edwards, our team of sponsor license compliance specialists will undertake regular mock audits on your behalf, across all of your sites. Where we find problems, we will quickly advise you of these and explain how to resolve them. Very often, even the smallest of changes can make all the difference. In some cases, a more substantial improvement, or programme of improvements, may be needed.
By carrying out regular mock audits on your behalf, our aim is to provide those in positions of responsibility in your organisation the confidence that if the Home Office carries out an onsite audit, your business will pass with ‘flying colours’. We understand the importance of your sponsor license to your business and will work to ensure it is securely retained for as long as it is needed.
If your sponsor license has already been downgraded (from an A-rating to a B-rating), or suspended, or revoked, Reiss Edwards will work with urgency to ensure it is upgraded or reinstated. Our team have considerable expertise and experience of helping businesses resume their sponsorship, allowing them to continue operating. Our team will look to assess the reason for your license interruption, and recommend how to resolve the matter/s in a way which will fully satisfy the Home Office.
Beyond auditing and compliance, many large businesses engage the services of Reiss Edwards to advise on their sponsorship strategy, playing a key role in ensuring they can ensure the timely flow of resources and expertise from outside of the UK, whether required on a short-term or long-term basis.
