Immigration

IMMIGRATION FEES

Broadgate Legal’s immigration team cover a wide range of immigration related areas, including (but not limited to) the work contained within the table below. The majority of all work conducted on your behalf will be under a fixed fee basis which will be decided upon consultation. Our friendly team offer a free 10-minute phone consultation to review the overall circumstances of your matter and to recommend next steps:

DISBURSEMENTS

You may have to pay disbursements as you progress your case. These are costs payable to third parties, such as Tribunal / Court Fees. You may in First Tier Tribunal and Appeal matters wish to instruct a Barrister or Counsel to represent you. We will discuss this with you during your matter.

TIMESCALES

We will always update you as your application / case progresses. The duration of an immigration application varies and is dependent on the Home Office and Immigration Tribunal listing availability. However, the application in our experience usually take between 8-14 weeks (unless made on a priority basis).

WHAT WORK DOES THIS COVER?

The fees set out below cover all of the work required to pursue your instructed matter. Such work includes (but is not limited to):

• Taking your initial instructions;
• Considering and reviewing your documents and advising you in writing of your prospects of success and likely award;
• Telephone calls between Broadgate Legal (BL) and Client;
• Telephone calls between BL and third parties’;
• All correspondence via email and letter between BL and Client;
• All correspondence via email and letter between BL and third parties’;
• All drafting and case preparation;

FUNDING All work undertaken on private basis and to the estimated Fixed-Fees as follows:

Immigration work, we undertake:	Cost Estimate
Entry Clearance Partner	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Entry Clearance Partner (with dependent)	£1400.00 – £1800.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Leave to Remain Partner	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Leave to Remain Partner (with dependent)	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Indefinite Leave to Remain Partner	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Indefinite Leave to Remain Partner (with dependent)	£1400.00 – £1800.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Urgent Applications/Removal/Deportation/Bail	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Long Residence (Leave to Remain)	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Long Residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain)	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Dependent Child Entry Clearance	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Dependent Child Leave to Remain	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Dependent Child Indefinite Leave to Remain	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Applications for documents under the EEA Regulations (including EEA Family Permits, residence cards and documents certifying permanent residence in the UK)	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Application Checking Service for all applications/ Consultation	£250.00 – £400.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Visitor visa application	£1000.00 – £1200.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Tier 2 (General) Work Permit (This includes entry clearance, leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain)	£1800.00 – £2400.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Tier 4 Student Visa	£1300.00 – £1600.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
Naturalisation Applications	£1200.00 – £1500.00, (exc. VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)
First Tier Tribunal Appeals	£1800.00 – £2600.00, (exc.VAT)* (subject to case circumstances)

 

 

 

Claims and Private Client

Timescales and critical dates

 

It is difficult to be precise about time scales due to the number of variables involved.  However, based on past experience, typically claimant personal injury cases can take anywhere between six months to more than two years to conclude.

 

In particular, the early stages of claims are often governed by a pre-action protocol, during which the defendant’s representatives carry out investigations, with no action required on our part. Subsequently, much may depend upon recovery from the injury and the medical evidence, especially if an expert recommends that we defer settlement, should there be an uncertain initial prognosis, or the need for rehabilitation treatment.

 

If liability is denied, the claims handler will need to discuss the further conduct of a claim with the client in more detail at that stage, because this is likely to have a direct bearing upon how long the case takes to conclude, and the outcome of the claim generally.

 

The primary limitation date is the most important initial date of which you should be aware, under which, in the majority of personal injury claims, Court Proceedings must be brought within three years from the date of the accident, failing which the claim will become statute barred and the claimant will no longer be entitled to compensation.

 

Costs, Funding & Other Financial Matters

 

We wish to provide clients, at the outset, with important information about costs and funding. This includes information about how costs are incurred, how those costs may be funded, any liability that might arise to pay the costs of an opponent and measures that might be taken to obtain protection against those costs.

 

Unless we are able to identify an alternative source of funding (i.e. under a Trade Union membership, or other organisation which might provide legal assistance), we will usually offer to act under the terms of any existing ‘before the event’ (BTE) legal expenses policy, or under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), supported by an ‘after the event’ (ATE) legal expenses policy.

 

ATE cover:

 

If a client does not have existing BTE cover, we can obtain an ATE policy to protect from costs liability against the defendants. This may be necessary if, for example, a defendant makes a formal offer (Part 36 Offer) to settle a claim, and the client rejects the offer or the offer expires. If then the matter progresses to trial and the Judge determines that the client should have accepted the offer (or that a lower amount should be awarded), the client will be responsible for payment of the defendant’s costs from the expiry / rejection of the formal offer. However, if the client has secured a valid ATE policy which provides protection from adverse costs, you may not have to pay anything to the defendant in the event that a costs order is made against you.

 

If an ATE policy is required, the client will ultimately be responsible for payment of this premium, but will only have to pay the premium if the claim is successful.

 

The amount of relevant premiums are linked to specific potential steps in the claim, with a typical usual structure outlined below. This will vary on a case by case basis and with time, and so the example below is purely for demonstration purposes.

 

If insurance is taken out before or within three days of the CNF (Claims Notification Form) being submitted on the portal, 'Early' staged premiums are as set out below.   

Early		Portal	Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3
Indemnity		£10,000	£25,000	£25,000	£25,000
Premium		£35 + IPT	£90 + IPT	£190 + IPT	£620 + IPT

 

 

The indemnity and premiums are not cumulative – the figure for each stage replaces the one before it:
                                                                  

Portal: Cases which settle wholly within the Portal Process.  

    

Stage 1: Cases which settle outside the Portal Process, but without court proceedings being issued.

Stage 2: Cases which settle after the issue of court proceedings, but earlier than 28 days before the first scheduled trial date.

Stage 3: Cases which settle within 28 days of the first scheduled trial date, or which go to trial.

 

IPT is payable when the claim settles, and so this rate is potentially subject to future change.

 

If the insurance policy is not taken out at the ‘early’ stage, then the following rates apply:

 

Late premiums – 3 days or more since date on CNF

 

Early                                      £90 + IPT

Stage 1                                 £210 + IPT

Stage 2                                 £420 + IPT

Stage 3                                 £1,270 + IPT

 

Three of the most important and practical reasons why this insurance is recommended are given below:

 

Broadgate Legal finances every claim, and the insurance provides protection against what can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of disbursements. It is generally thought preferable by claimants to lose a small percentage of their damages if the claim is successful, as opposed to running the risk of having to pay a significant sum in disbursements, if the claim is not successful.

 

The insurance provides protection against the adverse consequences of failing to beat a Part 36 Offer, and without that protection, in particular against a potential defendant's costs order, a claimant can feel unfairly pressured into accepting an inadequate offer.

 

Although statute provides significant protection against adverse defendant’s costs orders in personal injury claims, there are a number of situations where costs can be awarded against claimants, even in relation to specified successful applications. These will be the client’s responsibility to pay, and it is prudent and advisable to take out insurance against that risk.

 

Pre-existing BTE cover:

 

If we are asked to act for a client we will need to see all documentation relating to any insurance the client, or his / her spouse/partner or anyone else in the household may have. This is because such cover might be provided not only by specific insurance to cover legal expenses, but as an ‘add on’ to a home contents policy, car insurance, or other policies, or even as part of a credit card agreement.

 

A CFA and ATE insurance can usually be cancelled without charge, if we are able to identify and obtain indemnity through a BTE insurer at a later date.

 

In certain circumstances we will continue under a CFA, even if BTE Insurance is in place, because this will ensure that any funding available under the BTE policy will be applied to protect a client against defendant’s costs.

 

However, this will probably not be in your best interests when it will be the client’s responsibility to pay a success fee under a CFA, and when a client will only become responsible for a defendant’s costs in certain defined circumstances (most usually if the client rejects a defendant’s ‘Part 36’ Offer and then fails to improve on that offer).

 

Recovery of costs

 

We must have a contract with a client in order to be able to charge for costs, and in practice we will claim for all of our costs incurred on your instructions, whether or not recoverable from a defendant, subject to costs payable by a client under a success fee, being capped at no more than 25% of damages, for past financial losses and the injury, inclusive of VAT.

 

A CFA success fee is set at 100% of our basic charges but is then capped at no more than 25% of compensation, as defined below:

 

The maximum limit is 25% of the total amount of any:

 

general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, and

 

damages for pecuniary loss, other than future pecuniary loss.

 

These costs will only be charged if the claim is successful.

 

An element of these capped costs may not be recoverable from the defendant under the terms of our model Law Society Conditional Fee Agreement, and if this shortfall should arise we reserve our entitlement to charge the balance to a client on a private client basis.

 

However, and as said above, this percentage cap will usually be limited to no more than 25% of an award of damages, and will only be payable on a successful settlement of the claim, subject to some very limited exceptions, which essentially include fraud, fundamental dishonesty (in relation to any part of the claim) and early termination.

 

In certain cases we do charge a figure of more than 25% of damages on a private client basis, for example when we assess the risk as much higher than usual, or can envisage having to commit significant and exceptional resources to the case before we can form a view on the true prospects of success.

 

However on our assessment of your case we have agreed to charge no more than the above 25% cap on damages.

 

With road traffic accident claims in particular, some cases can settle quickly, while others can continue for years, with a contribution of only fixed fees from the insurers.

 

It is impossible to assess at the outset an eventual definitive outcome or even the duration of the claim, and so we apply a non-negotiable 25% success fee to all road traffic accident cases, which otherwise can be uneconomic to take on.

 

We set out below some general advice on costs, as provided for under the relevant legislation.

 

If the claim should fail, you will receive no compensation and I will write off my costs, or in certain circumstances recover these from your legal expense insurer, or other indemnity provider, which will also be responsible for any costs due to the opponent, for successfully defending the claim.

 

It is because of this costs structure, supported by legal expenses cover, that we are able to work on your behalf under a conditional fee (or ‘no win-no fee’) agreement in relation to what are likely to be the majority of our costs.

 

A client does need to bear in mind that under a CFA the practice is effectively sharing the risks of the case with the client, which does give a say in how the claim should be run, to the extent that the case will be reviewed at regular stages and the risk re-assessed as appropriate. If it is considered that a client is not likely to win the claim, or improve on a compromise offer, then the practice may decide to end the agreement. A legal expense insurer might take a similar decision on indemnity at that stage, if there appear to be no reasonable prospects of success and the insurer is exposed to an unacceptable risk of having to pay the opponent’s legal costs.

 

On a private basis, where you alone are running the risk, such decisions would be largely yours alone. If you consider it is important to retain full control of the case, rather than sharing this and the risks with the practice, then you do need to take that into account when assessing the best funding option.

 

Subject to any arrangement relating to a success fee, I do not intend to make any claim for costs against a client personally, unless the client ignores legal advice, provides incorrect, misleading or dishonest information (or fail to disclose information), or if in some other way the client breaches the terms of a legal expenses policy; and then only if irrecoverable costs arise as a result of any such conduct.

 

We will inform clients in advance should we be asked to act on a claim in any way which conflicts with our ability to recover costs, and/or which might give rise to a personal liability on costs which would otherwise be protected under this agreement.

 

The same will apply if a client instructs us to carry out work which may be completely unrelated to the claim / matter in which we have been initially instructed..

 

It is important to keep in mind, whatever method of funding is appropriate, that the likely benefits of the proposed legal work should justify the likely cost of carrying out that work.

 

This is particularly the case where fixed fees apply, because these significantly limit the time costs which the government allows us to recover from your opponent.

 

Road Traffic Accidents

 

Road Traffic Accident (RTA) claims which settle for less than £10,000 are subject to set charges, or ‘fixed recoverable costs’.

 

These charges are calculated according to the process under which the claim is conducted, which can be by one of two potential methods:

 

Submitting and managing the claim electronically through an online Portal, applying a ‘ pre-action conduct’ Practice Direction. This is known as the RTA PI Claims Process, or the Rapid Claims Process (‘the Process’), which applies to accidents which occur on or after 30th April 2010.

 

Managing the claim under a pre-action personal injury protocol (‘the Protocol’), as set out in the Civil Procedure Rules. The protocol will apply if the claim exits the RTA PI Process or is an excluded category from the outset. The most usual reason for a claim leaving the Process will be if the defendant insurer does not admit liability, or otherwise fails to comply with steps in the pre-action conduct, within specified time limits.

 

Fixed costs usually apply in RTA Claims:

 

Fixed costs under the RTA PI Process are calculated as follows:

 

£200 is paid following an admission of liability.

£300 is paid after settlement, in cases where quantum has been agreed.

Where quantum is not agreed, this will be assessed by a court. £250 is paid for the preparation of a successful assessment without attendance. £500 is paid when a successful oral hearing takes place.

If you live or work in London, a further amount equal to 12.5% of the above costs is allowable.

 

Fixed costs under the Pre-Action PI Protocol are calculated as follows:

 

£800, plus a sum equivalent to 20% of the damages agreed up to £5,000 and a sum equivalent to 15% of the damages agreed between £5,000 and £10,000.

The same London uplift applies.

 

These costs are fixed by the Civil Procedure Rules.

 

Fixed costs will not apply in certain cases, for example where a claim is litigated or where a party improves upon a Part 36 offer. In such circumstances, our fee is based on the time we spend on the client’s behalf, subject to the principle of ‘proportionality’, under which we will only recover costs which are reasonable and proportionate to the issues.

 

Please bear this restriction in mind when providing your instructions as the claim proceeds.

 

For ease of reference the following table repeats the information given above for RTA Claims handled under the RTA PI Claims Process, and also provides details of how fixed costs are calculated for RTA claims of between £10,000 and £25,000 in value.

 

Fixed costs in relation to the RTA Protocol
Where the value of the claim for damages is not more than £10,000		Where the value of the claim for damages is more than £10,000, but not more than £25,000
Stage 1 fixed costs	£200	Stage 1 fixed costs	£200
Stage 2 fixed costs	£300	Stage 2 fixed costs	£600
Stage 3 - Type A fixed costs	£250	Stage 3 - Type A fixed costs	£250
Stage 3 - Type B fixed costs	£250	Stage 3 - Type B fixed costs	£250
Stage 3 - Type C fixed costs	£150	Stage 3 - Type C fixed costs	£150

 

 

 

Fixed costs where a claim no longer continues under the RTA Protocol
A. If Parties reach a settlement prior to the claimant issuing proceedings under Part 7
Agreed damages	At least £1,000, but not more than £5,000	More than £5,000, but not more than £10,000	More than £10,000, but not more than £25,000
Fixed costs	The greater of— (a) £550; or (b) the total of— (i) £100; and (ii) 20% of the damages	The total of— (a) £1,100; and (b) 15% of damages over £5,000	The total of— (a) £1,930; and (b) 10% of damages over £10,000