Find a verified professional · GB
How to find a verified immigration lawyer in the United Kingdom
Immigration advice is a regulated activity — in some markets, giving it unregulated is a criminal offence. Here is which register proves someone may lawfully advise you in the United Kingdom, what an independent immigration lawyer actually does for your residence clock, what it costs, and what nobody may promise you.
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Why an independent immigration lawyer matters in the United Kingdom
Under section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 it is a criminal offence to provide immigration advice or services while unqualified. That is the sharpest line in any of our markets, and it exists because the harm — a wrongly filed application, a missed appeal deadline, a curtailed visa — usually cannot be undone. A sponsoring employer's legal team acts for the sponsor, not for you.
How to verify a immigration lawyer in the United Kingdom
The UK is the strictest market on this and the easiest to verify. Immigration advice may only be given by a solicitor or barrister regulated by the SRA or BSB, or by an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (the IAA, previously the OISC). IAA registration is levelled 1–3, and the level caps what the adviser may handle — Level 1 is applications, Level 3 is the highest. Both registers are public and free to search.
Typical fees
Fixed fees per application are common and vary widely by case type and firm. Home Office fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge are separate and payable regardless. Ask for a written client-care letter setting out the fee, what it excludes, and what happens if the application is refused.
The mistake to avoid
Paying an unregulated 'consultant' or an agent abroad who is neither IAA-registered nor a regulated solicitor. Check the register yourself before you pay — and treat any promise of a guaranteed outcome as the end of the conversation, since no adviser can bind the Home Office.
Get matched with a verified immigration lawyer
Tell us where you are going and what stage you are at, and we'll match you with a regulated, independent professional in that market. You instruct them directly and pay them directly — we're only the matchmaker, and no one can promise you an outcome.
Request a match →Are you a immigration lawyer in the United Kingdom?
We're selecting a founding cohort of verified firms per market before buyer matching opens. No listing fee in the founding period, top placement, and a per-match rate locked for life — you pay only when you accept and win a match.
Apply to the founding cohort →Frequently asked
Is it illegal to give immigration advice in the UK without registration?
Yes. Under section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 it is a criminal offence to provide immigration advice or services unless you are a regulated solicitor or barrister, or registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly the OISC). Both registers are public.
What do the IAA levels 1, 2 and 3 mean?
They cap the complexity an adviser may take on: Level 1 covers straightforward applications, and Level 3 the most complex work including certain appeals. If your case is at the edge of an adviser's level, they must refer it on rather than handle it.