If you have suffered loss as a result of a mistake made by an immigration advisor, then a negligence claim may be possible.
Immigration is a notoriously fast-changing area of law which immigration advisors have a professional duty to keep on top of. Unfortunately, mistakes made by immigration advisors are common and can have devastating effect on the individual affected.
Immigration Advisors
Here, we use the term ‘immigration advisors’, which includes immigration advisors regulated by the Office of the immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) as well as solicitors regulated by the Law Society of England and Wales. It also covers a variety of roles, including paralegals, caseworkers, trainees and solicitors.
Causes of Professional Negligence
Mistakes can happen for a variety of reasons. Many advisors are simply not up to speed on the latest law and procedural requirements. Often case work is delegated to junior staff without adequate supervision. Sometimes advisors are overworked and cannot devote enough time to your case.
The types of mistakes which we commonly see made by immigration advisors are:
You can read in more detail here about when an immigration advisor’s action or inaction can amount to a claim for professional negligence, as well as the time limits for making a claim.
- Failure to submit a visa extension application in-time
- Failure to provide correct immigration advice which is subsequently relied on by the individual
- Failure to provide important supporting evidence
- Applying on the wrong immigration route
- Failure to advise on suitable avenues of redress following a refusal, such as administrative review, appeal, or judicial review
Examples of financial loss
It is essential to show an immigration advisor has caused you financial loss. Common forms of financial loss in immigration professional negligence cases are:
- Loss of earnings due to not having immigration status/a right to work
- The cost of duplicate/unnecessary Home Office fees and immigration advice
- Travel costs /accommodation
- Costs incurred by family members
Why Truth Legal
We understand that suing an immigration advisor can seem daunting. At Truth Legal will handle the claim on your behalf so you do not need to deal directly with your previous immigration advisor. We are well placed to secure a just outcome for you. We are one of the few firms in the country to have both a dedicated professional negligence and an immigration team.
This means that, unlike other firms which offer a more generalised Professional Negligence service, we can drill down on the fine detail of immigration law and practice. We can pinpoint the precise nature of an advisor’s mistake and robustly secure compensation for you.
Funding your claim
At Truth Legal, we offer a range of funding options. By doing so, we aim to give you peace of mind and to limit the possibility of you incurring any further expenses. We are often able to conduct matters on the basis of a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement, where, in the vast majority of situations, you do not have to pay our fees if we are unsuccessful in recovering compensation for you.
Sometimes it might be necessary to charge a fee to review your case and establish whether your case is suitable for a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement. We will, however, always be upfront about our fees.
If you have any concerns about this side of making a professional negligence claim, we are more than willing to discuss matters with you in more depth.
If you think an immigration advisor might have been negligent with your case and are looking for compensation, then book a free consultation with us today.
Referrals from other solicitors
In our immigration department, we often see instances of poor representation by a previous advisor. If you have reason to believe that your client has previously been badly let down, then we would be happy to look into this further. You will need your client’s consent before contacting us.
As you know your client’s case inside-out, we are particularly interested to hear your take on how a previous advisor might have been negligent.
