You have decided to obtain professional help with a Skilled Worker application. One firm offers a fixed fee, another quotes a higher amount, and a third advertises a starting price. Before choosing, you need to establish whether they are offering the same work.
Skilled Worker visa adviser fees should be considered alongside the service included, the applicants covered and the tasks you will still need to manage. The amount payable to the adviser is also separate from the government charges and other expenses associated with the application.
A useful quotation makes those distinctions clear. It gives you enough information to compare services, plan the cost and understand what you are instructing the adviser to do.
Separate professional fees from the total application cost
Your overall budget may contain several different charges.
| Cost | What it relates to |
|---|---|
| Professional fee | The advice, review, preparation or representation you agree with the adviser |
| Home Office application fee | The government charge for the application |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | A separate charge where it applies |
| Other expenses | Items such as translations, tests, appointment services or optional priority processing |
A professional fee described as covering an application does not automatically include every item in that table. Ask for the government charges and expected third-party costs to be identified separately.
The Home Office’s Skilled Worker visa cost guidance explains the application fees, healthcare surcharge and financial requirements. Those government charges have their own rules and should be checked for the application being made.
For budgeting purposes, it helps to keep two totals: the agreed professional fee and the other costs you expect to pay. You can then see what changes if you add a dependant, choose an optional service or alter the proposed application.
Establish what the quotation actually covers
“Application assistance” can describe work with very different boundaries. A consultation, a review of a completed application and full preparation are distinct services.
Before comparing prices, establish what you will receive. For a Skilled Worker application, useful points to clarify include:
| Area | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Initial assessment | Whether the adviser will assess the proposed application and identify unresolved questions |
| Sponsorship information | Whether the CoS and relevant employment information will be reviewed |
| Evidence | Who identifies the documents needed and examines what they demonstrate |
| Application preparation | Who completes the form and prepares any agreed supporting explanation |
| Submission arrangements | Who manages uploads, submission and any relevant appointment arrangements |
| Following submission | Which communications, decision explanations or further responses are included |
The answer should appear in the written scope. If the quotation only gives a price and a route name, ask for enough detail to understand the service.
GOV.UK’s guidance on hiring an immigration adviser explains that the adviser should provide a letter setting out the work, charges and payment arrangements. It also advises agreeing fees before additional work is undertaken.
A clear agreement protects the working relationship. Both sides can refer to it when deciding whether a later request forms part of the original instruction.
Why two Skilled Worker quotations may differ
Two applicants using the same immigration route may need different amounts of professional work.
One may have a settled employment offer, consistent sponsorship information and readily available records. Another may need clarification of previous permissions, several employment documents or arrangements involving family members in different locations.
The scope can also differ. One provider may review material you have already prepared. Another may develop the application plan, identify evidence requirements and manage preparation through to submission.
When considering a higher quotation, ask what additional work or responsibility it covers. The explanation should be specific enough to assess. A broad claim of being thorough tells you less than a description of how sponsorship information will be checked or how outstanding evidence will be managed.
Price alone does not establish the quality of a service. A lower quotation may suit a narrowly defined task. A higher quotation may cover a wider engagement. The comparison becomes meaningful once the work and responsibilities are clear.
Check who is covered by the fee
A quote for a Skilled Worker application may cover only the main applicant. A partner or child may require a separate professional fee, even where the applications are prepared together.
Ask the provider to identify every applicant included. Explain whether family members are applying at the same time, joining later or already holding permission with different expiry dates.
Also clarify whether the quotation covers an application from overseas, an extension, a switch of route or a change of employer. Giving the provider the correct starting information helps them quote for the actual work.
For dependant application help, the service should address each person’s circumstances. A family quotation needs to make clear which applications and evidence are being handled.
If someone is added to the instruction later, establish the additional work and fee before assuming they are covered by the existing agreement.
Keep the employer’s sponsorship work identifiable
The worker’s visa application may sit alongside work for the employer, including a sponsor licence application, a CoS request or assignment.
These are distinct stages. Reviewing the sponsorship information for a visa application does not necessarily mean the adviser has been instructed to obtain or assign the certificate.
Knightsbridge’s CoS allocation and assignment service separates those employer services from preparation of the worker’s visa application. If both sides need assistance, the relevant work and fees should be identified.
It is also necessary to distinguish who is permitted to bear particular sponsorship costs. For example, the Home Office states that the sponsor must pay the Immigration Skills Charge and must not ask the worker to pay it.
If an employer presents a combined figure described as “visa costs”, ask for a breakdown. Understanding the purpose of each charge is an essential first step in assessing it.
What a fixed fee should make clear
A fixed-fee application service should identify the work covered by the agreed price. It should also explain how a material change to the instruction will be handled.
For example, a quotation may cover one application for a named applicant. Adding a dependant, changing the proposed application or requesting a separate service could require a further agreement.
A useful question is what the adviser expects to resolve within the original preparation. If your instructions already disclose a particular issue, ask whether examining that issue is included in the quotation.
You should also understand the procedure for additional work. The provider should explain the proposed task, why it is needed and its fee before you decide whether to proceed.
“Fixed fee” is most useful when it is attached to a sufficiently clear scope. That clarity helps you distinguish an agreed application service from work introduced later.
Urgent preparation and Home Office priority services
An approaching deadline can affect what preparation is practical. Tell the adviser about your visa expiry or intended application date when requesting a quotation.
Ask whether the provider can take on the work within that timetable and whether an accelerated preparation service carries an additional professional fee. Their answer may depend on the evidence available and the issues still to be resolved.
Home Office priority processing is a separate matter. It concerns the decision-making service available for an eligible application. GOV.UK explains the options through its guidance on getting a faster decision.
A quotation should therefore distinguish preparation by the adviser from processing by the Home Office. Paying for an optional government service does not complete outstanding evidence work or establish that the application is ready to submit.
A hypothetical example: comparing two offers of help
Imagine that an applicant receives one quotation for reviewing a completed Skilled Worker application and another for preparing the worker’s application together with a partner’s dependant application.
The review quotation assumes that the applicant will complete the form, gather the evidence, make any changes and submit. The representation quotation covers agreed preparation work for two people.
Comparing only the headline amounts would leave out the main difference: the tasks and applicants covered.
The applicant should first decide what assistance they need. If they are confident managing preparation and want a defined review, that may be the appropriate service. If they want someone to develop and prepare both applications, the quotation needs to cover that work.
The useful comparison is the cost of the service that matches the intended instruction. It should include any separately charged tasks the applicant already knows they will need.
Knightsbridge’s professional fees and service options
Knightsbridge confirms the work and fee before you decide to instruct us. The appropriate service depends on whether you need advice, scrutiny of an application you have prepared or assistance managing the preparation.
| Service | Published professional fee | Main purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Consultation | £250 | A one-hour consultation on the agreed questions, followed by personalised written advice |
| Application and Document Review | £550 | Examination of a completed application and supporting pack, with written findings |
| Full Representation | General private client service starts from £1,200; your application is quoted individually | Agreed assessment, preparation and submission work |
The Full Representation starting price is a general service price. It is not a quotation for every Skilled Worker application or family group. We assess your requirements and confirm the fee for your particular instruction.
Knightsbridge is not currently VAT registered, so no VAT is added to our professional fees. Home Office charges and third-party expenses are separate.
For Full Representation, payment is normally 50% when signing the client care letter and 50% before submission. The consultation and review services are payable in full upfront under their respective booking arrangements.
A consultation does not include detailed review of employment or other supporting evidence. The review service covers the agreed assessment and feedback; second checks and additional work are separately agreed. These distinctions help you choose the service that matches the work you want undertaken.
Understand what happens after submission or a change of plans
Before instructing an adviser, ask what happens if you decide to stop, your employment offer changes or further work becomes necessary.
The agreement should explain payment arrangements and how completed work is treated. Do not assume that every service has the same cancellation terms or that a decision to withdraw automatically results in a full refund.
Ask about support following submission as well. Explaining a Home Office decision, preparing a substantive response to an evidence request and making a fresh application are different tasks.
At Knightsbridge, Full Representation includes review and explanation of the Home Office’s response or decision and the next steps. Additional substantive casework is agreed separately. Work required to correct an error in our agreed service is not treated as a new chargeable instruction.
The professional fee pays for the agreed work. The Home Office remains responsible for the application decision, and representation cannot guarantee an approval.
Requesting a quotation for your Skilled Worker application
A useful quotation starts with enough information to understand the instruction.
Tell us whether you are applying for the first time, extending, switching routes or changing employer. Explain your current immigration position, sponsorship arrangements, any family applications and the date you are working towards.
If another adviser or your employer is already handling part of the process, identify that work. This helps establish what assistance you need from Knightsbridge and where responsibilities should sit.
We can then explain whether we can assist, the appropriate service and the proposed professional fee. You can consider the scope and payment arrangements before deciding to instruct us.
