Is there a difference between submitting a visa application by myself and having an immigration lawyer help me?

If you are looking to apply for a UK visa, you may be deciding whether to undertake the application yourself or whether you need to instruct an immigration lawyer on your behalf. Essentially, this will depend on the type of visa application you are intending to make and how complicated your personal circumstances are, as this will affect the complexity of the application process.

Although it is not required to engage legal counsel, it is recommended to do so, as the rules regarding particular visas and some areas of law (such as nationality) are particularly complex.

Some personal visa applications (such as Family or Ancestry visas) require extensive personal information about your UK immigration history, family, employment, good character and nationality background.

Corporate immigration applications also carry a range of mandatory duties that employers need to comply with. This includes record-keeping and monitoring duties, and duties to update the Home Office on sponsored employees’ change of circumstances. Failure to fully understand and comply with these duties can cause a sponsor licence to be revoked, or your application for a sponsor licence to be refused. Your UK corporate immigration lawyer can advise you on how to stay compliant with your sponsor duties and prepare you for compliance visits.

It is also recommended to seek assistance if your personal circumstances are not entirely straightforward (such as if you had previous UK visa refusals, or overstayed your visa permission at some point) – a lawyer can advise you on how to present these circumstances to the Home Office in terms of evidence, and explain to you how they may affect your eligibility.

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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