About Migrant

migrant.co.uk is an independent guide to UK immigration for the people going through it: plain-English explanations of each visa, of settlement and citizenship, of what everything costs, and of the Life in the UK test.

Why it exists

The official information on gov.uk is accurate but scattered, and the Immigration Rules themselves are written for caseworkers. Law firms publish guides that are often good but written to win clients. We wanted a single place that explains the rules as they are, points out where applications go wrong, says what things cost, and tells you honestly when you need professional help and when you do not.

How the guides are written

Every guide is researched from the Immigration Rules, the Home Office's published caseworker guidance, the fees regulations and official statistics, and each one links to the gov.uk pages it draws on. Figures carry the date they were last checked. When the government announces a change we record it on the rule-changes page and update the affected guides when the change takes effect. Our editorial policy sets out the process in more detail.

What we do not do

We do not give immigration advice. In the UK that is a regulated activity, and we are not regulated to do it. Our guides describe the rules in general; they cannot tell you whether you qualify or what you should do, and nothing on this site should be relied on in place of advice from a regulated adviser or the official guidance. We do not handle applications, we are not connected with the Home Office, and we do not take payment from law firms or advisers to be listed or recommended.

How the site is funded

Where a guide mentions a book, such as the official Life in the UK handbook, the link goes to Amazon UK and we earn a small commission on purchases made through it. That is the site's only source of income. It does not influence what we write, and we would recommend the handbook whether or not it earned anything, because it is the only text the test is drawn from.

Corrections

Immigration rules change constantly and we would rather hear about a mistake than leave it up. If you spot an error, an out-of-date figure or a rule we have missed, please use the contact form.

migrant.co.uk is published by Centraserve Ltd, a company registered in England.