Are you considering relocating to the UK and looking for the best immigration lawyers or law firms to help get you? The great news is that there are some very good ones out there. You just need to do your bit and do some key research and simply set the wheels in motion on all of this. There are some great firms out there after all – and all able to deal with cases large and small too.
Make sure they are fully compliant and regulated
To be able to provide immigration law advice in the UK all advisers need to be either working for a firm of solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or for non-solicitors be regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). It is a criminal offence for anyone to provide legal advice and assistance with making an immigration application without being regulated. This ensures that all advisers remain up to date with this complex and ever-changing area of law. This is as well as having necessary procedures and insurance in place to cover those occasions when things go wrong. Immigration Law Firms in London tend to be fully above board.
See if you will be able to get free advice up front
Many companies offer free initial advice. This is all well before charges commence. All of this is to give clients the opportunity to be completely sure that there is a valid application. It needs to be one that also can be made and also to give both the client and adviser the chance to get to know each other. Some companies will charge you from the moment you talk to a lawyer. It is important that you are aware of this difference in approach. It is key before you make an appointment with your immigration adviser. This is to avoid surprise costs being asked from you in the future.
Assess how open they are with their pricing
Immigration advice can be expensive. With this in mind, it is important that you know how much you are going to pay. Also so you know what work it covers. Solicitors are required to publish all of their prices for immigration law advice. This is with the exception of asylum advice and corporate services. In our experience, the more open and transparent lawyers are about pricing, the better. This is including details as to whether the price includes VAT or not. The easier it is for clients to make an informed decision, the better. This is all related as to whether they wish to proceed with an immigration application.
It is not unusual for a lawyer to need to have an initial meeting with a prospective client. This is very typical before giving detailed costs information to enable them to be equipped with all the details. This is all related to info about the complexity of the case. Free initial advice sessions can generally be sufficient to enable lawyers to give an accurate price for their work without clients having to incur any costs. It pays to shop around before choosing an immigration lawyer.
Overall
The term immigration law is a broad term. it covers everything from helping large corporations comply with immigration rules, to helping families live together. It can and will also be related to assisting asylum seekers fleeing war. It is a complex area of law. So for this reason you need to be certain that your lawyer has experience. This is all to do with dealing with your particular type of application. Feel free to ask them how many cases of your type they have dealt with. Also on what their success rates are like. The more information you have, the more informed you are when making a decision about who the right lawyer is for you.
