The Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) is the UK government body that regulates immigration advisers. It is a criminal offence to provide immigration advice in the UK without being authorised by the IAA or being a solicitor or barrister. Legal i Services Ltd is registered with the IAA, which means you are protected by the IAA Code of Standards. You can verify our registration at the IAA Adviser Register.

IAA Level 1 authorisation permits us to advise on and assist with straightforward immigration matters, including visitor visas, student visas, family visas, leave to remain, settlement, naturalisation, the EU Settlement Scheme, and administrative reviews where permitted. We are authorised in the category of Immigration, Asylum and Protection. We cannot advise on complex matters, judicial review, or matters requiring Level 2 or Level 3 authorisation.

If we assess your matter as falling outside our Level 1 authorisation, we will tell you immediately and clearly. We will not accept the case. We will refer you to a suitably authorised adviser, solicitor or barrister. We keep a formal referral log for all such cases. We will never charge you for a referral.

No — and you should be very cautious of any adviser who claims to guarantee a visa or successful application. The outcome of any immigration application is decided solely by the Home Office or relevant authority. We will always give you an honest professional assessment of your prospects, but we cannot and do not guarantee results.

Yes. We provide immigration advice and all client communications in both English and Bengali (বাংলা). Our adviser Habibur Rahman Tafader speaks both languages fluently. If you would prefer to communicate in Bengali, please let us know when you book.

Our standard initial consultation is £50 for up to 60 minutes. Follow-up consultations are £30. During the consultation we will review your circumstances, assess your eligibility, advise on your options, and identify the documents you need. See our full fee scale for all service prices.

No. All fees are fixed, agreed in writing, and confirmed in your Client Care Letter before any work begins. Our fees do not include Home Office application fees, the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), translation costs, or other third-party disbursements — these are payable directly by you. We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added to our fees.

If you cancel before work has commenced, any advance payment is refunded in full. If work has started, we charge proportionate to the work completed. We do not refund fees where an application is refused by the Home Office — refusal is the decision of the relevant authority, not of us. Our full refund terms are set out in our Terms of Business.

Processing times vary by application type and are set by the Home Office. Standard visitor visa decisions typically take 3–8 weeks; family visa applications typically take 12–24 weeks; naturalisation applications can take 6 months or more. We will advise you on current typical timescales at your consultation. Processing times are outside our control.

You are not legally required to use an immigration adviser — you can apply directly to the Home Office yourself. However, professional advice can significantly reduce the risk of errors, identify the strongest supporting evidence, and improve your chances of success. The most important thing is to ensure any adviser you use is properly regulated by the IAA, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) or the Bar Standards Board (BSB).

If your application is refused, we will explain the reasons given by the Home Office and advise on your options. Depending on the type of refusal and the reason given, options may include an administrative review (where a caseworker error is identified), a fresh application, or a referral to a higher-level adviser or solicitor for appeal or judicial review. Administrative reviews where a caseworker error is identified are within our Level 1 scope.

A Client Care Letter is a written document we provide before starting work, setting out the agreed scope of work, fees, timescales, complaints procedure, and our regulatory details. It is required by the IAA Code of Standards. You must sign and return it — along with a Letter of Authority — before we begin any chargeable work. This protects both you and us.

We take all complaints seriously. Please see our full Complaints Policy. You can complain in writing (email or letter), verbally (in person or by phone), or through a representative. We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and provide a full response within 10–15 working days. You may initiate a complaint to the IAA at any stage — you are not required to wait until our internal complaints procedure has concluded. The IAA can be contacted at: complaints@immigrationadviceauthority.gov.uk or by post: IAA Complaints Team, PO Box 567, Dartford, DA1 9XW.

You can verify our IAA registration at any time on the IAA Adviser Register. Search for adviser number P059395 (Habibur Rahman Tafader) or search for the organisation Legal i Services Ltd. Our IAA registration is currently pending — once confirmed, our firm registration number will be published here and on our About & Regulation page.