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Frequently asked questions

Why choose ICS Legal?

We specialise in Immigration Law, Human Rights Law, British Nationality Law & European Law. Our lawyers provide honest, exceptional service to our clients. We believe that our service starts when we submit your application and we want our client to know we will keep them informed, answer there questions and your case worker will be just a phone call away.

What is the benefit of using our legal services when you want to come to the UK or extend or switch?

Our speciality lies in the field of Immigration, Nationality and EU Law, so it means we always are dealing with this side of the law. We are able to support you in making a correct decision, avoid delays on your case, save money and time, not forgetting the stress of any doubts with your application.

There are many routes available to come to the UK, extend or switch, some of them do not allow extension or even switching. Knowing what is right can be a difficult task and this is why we are here. Simple task of not using the prescribed forms can mean your application is invalid, which means if you have no valid stay, you would have to return back and there is no appeal rights.

Our initial consultations are a chargeable service. We initially discuss the requirements of the application to ensure you meet the requirements and have the documentation required at hand for the submission. It gives you an opportunity to meet us and ask questions.

Each case will be checked thoroughly, everything will be cross referenced so guidelines are met and we will also add our legal document which would outline the Immigration Rules and how the client has satisfied the rules. We use documents that are used by Home Office case workers, so we know exactly what they would look for in your case.

The most important fact is that law constantly changes, policy guidelines and requirements are always changing, so it is best that you always use specialised services to support you. We never compromise our services, our fees remain very competitive but our expertise is at the very highest standard.

How can I trust your service?

We are regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC). OISC is the government regulated body and it is a criminal offence if someone is providing Immigration advice without being regulated by the OISC. We are also members of Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). JCWI is an independent national voluntary organisation, campaigning for justice and combating racism in immigration and asylum law and policy.

What happens in the initial consultation?

Your case worker would take some background information regarding yourself. Relevant questions would be asked to ascertain whether your case can be handled by our team. You will also be able to ask questions, understand what is required to meet the Immigration Rules, Nationality Law and EU Law where relevant. Should we be able to provide assistance, your case worker will give you a customer care letter whereby it would outline the service agreement and the cost associated.

What happens after the consultation?

After each consultation we aim to provide a consultation report which would outline what was discussed, the action plan and what to do next.

When I meet the caseworker and I disclose personal information, would this be disclosed to anyone else?

We have a procedure in place for ensuring client confidentiality. We keep the affairs of our clients and all information relating to our clients confidential, except where we are compelled to disclose information by reason of a legal or regulatory obligation.

What is a customer care letter?

A customer care letter from us will ensure that we outline the service we would be providing, it would also provide a break down of the costs associated so you can rest assure that there are no hidden charges and that fees do not go up unless changes are made (i.e. Home Office fees etc).

Once I sign the customer care letter and my case would possibly fail, do I still have to pay your fees?

We place our clients first, so when you sign the customer care letter and we go through your case file, and we believe that the case would not be successful, we will terminate the agreement and return your documents. We will also provide alternative solutions with no added costs. We also have a cancellation period should you feel you want to withdraw your file.

Please note that all cases cannot be guaranteed as circumstances depends and whether you met guidelines, however the Home Office caseworker can still refuse cases on the balance of probabilities and other factors. Our job would be to prepare your case in the best possible way.

Do you provide one day Premium Services?

Yes, we have a special provision with the Home Office and majority case decisions are made on the same day.

Do you do “No Win No Fee”?

As a private legal firm, we want to ensure we can provide the service you want. Our fees are very competitive and that is why we do not provide a No Win No Fee service as we do not feel the need to over charge our clients with such schemes.

How is the fees paid and are there any surprises?

With us, you will know exactly what we would be charging. The fees are to be paid through cheque, cash or bank transfer. Home Office fees can be paid to us and we can make the payment on behalf of you. If there is any changes in Home Office fees, we will let you know immediately.

How often would I get updated once my case have been submitted?

Our commitment to our clients is that we will update you every time we get an update from the Home Office. The waiting period can be a very daunting time as decisions can be life changing however the Home Office do set some guidelines on waiting times, but we intend to keep you updated throughout the process.

Can you guarantee an application?

No, and this is the same even if you use a no win no fee service, it would be impossible for anyone to guarantee a successful application. The likelihood of an application being successful can be given based on previous cases or success rates, however we do not operate such a policy of selling our services based on previous applications.

What is your aftercare service?

We aim to ensure that this service is not used by any of our clients, but there are times where even with the best possible applications are unsuccessful. As we take our clients cases personally, we would like to provide a helping hand. We have designed an aftercare service whereby if your case fails, then your case worker would be able to help you look at other formalities of staying in the UK should you have valid leave still remaining or help you make an out country application. Please note should you require appealing on your matter, we can only deal with the initial appeal and your application will be straight away referred to an advisor who deals with representations.

Can I give you feedback on your service?

It is vital that all our clients can provide honest feedback, we would encourage this and this helps us to become better on our service delivery.

Can you help me find a UK Employer to sponsor a work permit or find me work?

No, we are a law firm which provides support in UK Immigration, Nationality and EU Free Movement Rights. However we have a subsidiary company which is jobslibrary.co.uk whereby you can look for work, apply and discuss with potential employers. We cannot influence any decisions and finding work is not something our team deals with.

How we deliver service

1) You contact us through e-mail or phone.

2) We take some basic information, we ask some relevant questions to understand the type of query and what type of support is required.

3) Your case then gets passed to a case worker.

4) Case Worker would contact you to set up an initial meeting.

5) You attend a consultation, an action plan is drawn up and we find out whether ICS Legal can support your case. A report would be sent where there is a requirement to outline what was discussed and what to do next.

6) You authorise us to be your legal representative by signing our customer care letter.

7) We will then start to request documents and information about your case this will build up your case pack.

8) We will then write our legal report and use Home Office caseworker’s documents to ensure everything has been checked and all requirement have been met.

9) Where possible we will go through every aspect of your case before case submission.

10) We will continue to update you throughout the case life cycle .

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Removal of Citizenship | British Nationality | Citizenship | ICS Legal

You may be deprived of British citizenship if it is found to have been obtained by fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact. The Home Secretary may also deprive you of British citizenship if, in their opinion, it would be in the public interest to do so and you would not thereby be made stateless.

In recent years there has been increasing use of powers to deprive people of their British citizenship and withdraw British passport facilities, particularly in respect of those who may be involved in fighting, extremist activity or terrorist training overseas. Under section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (as amended), an order to deprive a person of their British citizenship can be made if the Home Secretary is satisfied that:

it would be conducive to the public good to deprive the person of their British citizenship status and to do so would not render them stateless; or
the person obtained their citizenship status through naturalisation, and it would be conducive to the public good to deprive them of their status because they have engaged in conduct “seriously prejudicial” to the UK’s vital interests, and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that they could acquire another nationality; or
the person acquired their citizenship status through naturalisation or registration, and it was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact.

In the second and third scenarios, a person may be deprived of their British citizenship even if this would leave them stateless. "Conducive to the public good” means depriving in the public interest on the grounds of involvement in terrorism, espionage, serious organised crime, war crimes or unacceptable behaviours.

The power to deprive a naturalised person of their citizenship status and leave them vulnerable to statelessness due to “seriously prejudicial” conduct derives from section 66 of the Immigration Act 2014, which came into effect on 28 July 2014. Some commentators have questioned how this controversial power will be applied, and whether it undermines the UK’s international obligations. The Home Secretary also has powers to issue, withdraw and refuse to issue British passports under the Royal Prerogative (an executive power which does not require legislation).

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill of 2014-15 seek to strengthen powers to seize passports and exclude British nationals from the UK (without extending citizenship deprivation powers).

The British Nationality Act 1981 (‘the BNA 1981’) is the basis of current nationality law. The Act came into force on 1 January 1983. It has always included powers to deprive a person of their British nationality, although the nature of these powers has changed over the years due to amendments made by subsequent pieces of legislation.

The evolution of deprivation of citizenship powers under the BNA 1981 is summarised in the appendices to this note. Most recently, Section 66 of the Immigration Act 2014 (in effect from 28 July 2014) inserted new provisions into the BNA 1981 enabling the Home Secretary to deprive a naturalised person of their British citizenship status on the grounds that they had conducted themselves in a manner “seriously prejudicial” to the vital interests of the UK, and there are reasonable grounds to consider that they could be eligible for another nationality.

In reaching a decision to deprive on these grounds, the Home Secretary can take into account conduct which took place prior to this section coming into force. As a result of these changes, the current powers, as set out in section 40 of the BNA 1981 (as amended), enable the Home Secretary to make an order to deprive a person of their British citizenship status in any of the following circumstances:

The person obtained their citizenship status through registration or naturalisation, and the Home Secretary is satisfied that this was obtained by fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact (s40(3));
The Home Secretary considers that deprivation “is conducive to the public good”, and would not make the person stateless (s40(2); s40(4));
The person obtained their citizenship status through naturalisation, and the Home Secretary considers that deprivation is conducive to the public good because the person has conducted themselves “in a manner which is seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the United Kingdom, any of the Islands, or any British overseas territory”, and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds to believe that the person is able to become a national of another country or territory under their laws (s40(4A)).

In the first and third scenarios, deprivation of citizenship is permissible even if the person would be left stateless. "False representation" means a representation which was dishonestly made on the applicant’s part. “Conducive to the public good” means depriving in the public interest on the grounds of involvement in terrorism, espionage, serious organised crime, war crimes or unacceptable behaviours.

British nationality law provides for six different types of British nationality/citizenship status, of which ‘British citizen’ is the most common. The deprivation of citizenship powers applies to all of these categories. There are also provisions within the common law to ‘nullify’ an application for British citizenship if it is found to have been ineffective from the outset. These do not depend on misconduct by the individual or the Secretary of State being satisfied on certain matters. The application is treated as if it never took place. As discussed in section 6 to this Note, the Prime Minister had confirmed that the Government is considering what action it can take to exclude British nationals who are considered to pose a threat to national security but are not covered by existing deprivation of citizenship powers.

Ministers suggested during the passage of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 that deprivation may be appropriate where the person-

has encouraged or assisted others to commit acts of terrorism;
has committed war crimes, public order offences or other serious crime; or
has carried out acts seriously prejudicial to vital national interests, including espionage and acts of terrorism directed at the United Kingdom or an allied power.

A certificate of naturalisation may, as a matter of law, be ineffective from the outset if it is obtained by means of impersonation.

Claims of fraud or misrepresentation

The Home Office may take away your British citizenship if they find that you obtained your registration or naturalisation by fraud, giving false information, or concealing facts that would have affected our decision. This is known as a deprivation of citizenship.

Reasons for depriving you of citizenship might include if you:

concealed information that might show you are not of good characters, such as convictions overseas;
obtained Indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom by claiming to hold a different nationality;
obtained Citizenship as the Spouse of a British citizen, but you were not validly married to that person; or
used false documents to obtain citizenship, or cheated in the Life in the United Kingdom test.

Home Office may also take away your British citizenship if, in their opinion, it would be in the public interest for them to do so and you would not be made stateless as a result of Home Office removing British citizenship.

If you are deprived of citizenship, you stop being a British citizen on the date that a deprivation order is issued. After that, you are no longer able to hold a British passport. Any rights you may have to live in the United Kingdom may also be lost. In serious cases, you may be removed from the United Kingdom.

Rights of appeal against deprivation of citizenship

Section 40(5) of the BNA 1981 (as amended) states that before making an order for deprivation of citizenship, the Secretary of State must give the person written notice specifying the reasons for the order and the person’s right of appeal. The British Nationality (General) Regulations 2003 specify the procedure for giving notice of proposed deprivation of citizenship order and cancelling registration or naturalisation. For example, if the person’s whereabouts are known, written notice may be personally delivered or sent by post. If their whereabouts are not known, notice is sent to their last known address.

Section 40A of the BNA 1981 sets out the rights of appeal. We are able to conduct the appeal on your behalf.

Appealing against the decision to make a deprivation order is ‘non-suspensive’ – i.e. the deprivation order can be made (and the person deported from the UK if they are not already outside the UK) whilst the right of appeal is being exercised.

Speak to our Nationality Team on 0207 237 3388 or complete our contact form, by clicking here.