Legal services for individuals and families.

Immigration

Whitefield Solicitors offers immigration services covering visa applications, residency permits, citizenship and deportation defence, with personalised support, help with paperwork and court representation.

What we cover

• Visitor and business visas, and sole representative cases
• Work and skilled-worker routes, including investor, entrepreneur, post-study, religious worker and temporary worker categories
• Settlement, including indefinite leave to remain
• Family member and EEA national cases
• Asylum, human rights claims and discretionary leave
• Appeals to the tribunal and higher courts
• Judicial reviews and injunctions
• British nationality and citizenship

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Immigration – Our Leading Cases

We have represented clients at all levels in domestic courts, international courts and tribunals, with a very good success rate. We have been involved in several high-profile cases that set precedents in immigration, asylum, nationality and human rights law.

• European Court of Human Rights cases
• House of Lords cases
• Court of Appeal (Civil Division) cases
• High Court (Administrative Court) cases
• Asylum and Immigration Tribunal cases
• Special Immigration Appeals Commission cases

British Nationality

Whitefield Solicitors are specialists in naturalisation applications for British nationality.

We provide efficient and cost-effective advice for people who wish to obtain British nationality or citizenship. There are four ways to acquire British citizenship:

• Registration
• Naturalisation
• Birth
• Descent

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Business Visas

We advise on all aspects of business immigration law, with categories defined by specific Immigration Rules. The investor route requires not less than £200,000 to invest in a business under the applicant's control.

We offer advice, applications and representation for:

• Entrepreneurs, innovators and investors
• Business visitors and sole representatives
• Persons of independent means and persons setting up in business
• Spouses or civil partners of eligible persons, and children of persons with limited leave
• Writers, composers and artists
• Persons establishing businesses under EC Association Agreements

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Family Members

We offer high-quality, cost-effective advice to people seeking to enter or remain in the UK as family members of British citizens or settled persons, including:

• Spouses and civil partners
• Victims of domestic violence
• Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners
• Unmarried and same-sex partners
• Children
• Parents, grandparents and other dependent relatives

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Same Day Visa Service

Our Premium Service. We are registered with the Home Office and submit applications in person, so you can get a decision the same day without waiting months or attending the Home Office yourself.

We receive Home Office appointments weekly. Check around 3:00 pm on Mondays for the following week's availability.

Eligible applications

• Tier 1 (Investor, Post Study Work, General, Entrepreneur)
• Tier 2 (Minister of Religion, Skilled Worker)
• Tier 4 (Students)
• Tier 5 (Temporary Worker)
• Indefinite Leave to Remain (Work Permit)
• Indefinite Leave to Remain (HSMP)

A same-day decision is possible only for straightforward applications. More than 98% of the applications we submit are decided that day; only very few are kept for further enquiries.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Human Rights

Whitefield Solicitors is a leading specialist in human rights and immigration law, providing comprehensive services related to human rights law.

We support clients facing discrimination, harassment or violations of civil liberties, with legal representation and support. Services include filing complaints with human rights commissions and pursuing litigation in the courts.

We are committed to social justice and to upholding your fundamental rights and freedoms.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Judicial Reviews and Injunctions

Judicial review is a procedure by which the High Court supervises the exercise of public power. You can ask the Administrative Court to set aside a decision you believe is unlawful, irrational or procedurally improper, and possibly seek damages. It is available only where no other remedy exists.

Immigration grounds may include

• Refused leave to remain with no right of appeal
• Receiving a removal notice (IS96)
• Leave cancelled or revoked without a right of appeal
• Refusal of leave to enter at the airport without a right of appeal
• Being removed from the UK
• A tribunal refusing reconsideration (statutory review) after an appeal is dismissed
• The Secretary of State declining to exercise discretion outside the immigration rules
• The Home Office refusing to reconsider or to treat a submission as a fresh claim
• Refusal of a certificate to register a marriage in the UK
• A decision that breaches human rights

Injunctions

We can make urgent applications to the High Court, outside office hours, to stop a person's removal from the UK. These are usually heard by a Duty High Court Judge.

We offer judicial review advice and representation with a strong success rate. Contact us for a free consultation.

Appeals in Higher Courts

We are experts in higher court appeals. We offer advice, services and representation to people appealing a decision of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in the higher courts, with an excellent success rate in high-level appeals.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
• High Court
• House of Lords
• European Court of Human Rights

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Appeals at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) hears appeals against Home Office decisions on asylum, immigration and nationality matters.

Main appeal types

• Refused asylum or human rights applications
• Refused leave to remain
• Refused visa or entry clearance
• Deportation of someone already in the UK
• Refused entry on arrival
• Bail applications for detainees

One or more Immigration Judges hear appeals, sometimes with a non-legal Tribunal member. The Home Office is usually represented by Presenting Officers and, in significant cases, by barristers.

We offer cost-effective advice and representation for appeals against Home Office decisions, with a strong success rate, and we handle appeals to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Asylum, Legacy and Human Rights Claims

We advise people seeking to enter or remain in the UK as asylum seekers or on human rights grounds. Whitefield Solicitors are specialists in asylum claims.

Refugee criteria

A person may qualify as a refugee if they are unable or unwilling to receive protection from their country, or unwilling to return, because of a well-founded fear of persecution related to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.

Human rights claims

We help people who believe removal would breach their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, including the right to life, freedom from torture or inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to private and family life.

Humanitarian protection

• The death penalty or execution
• Unlawful killing
• Torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• Serious, individual threats to a civilian's life or person from indiscriminate violence in armed conflict

We protect rights under the ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998, covering Articles 2 to 14: life, freedom from torture, slavery and forced labour, liberty, fair trial, punishment only under law, private and family life, thought and religion, expression, assembly and association, marriage, effective remedy, and non-discrimination.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Visitor Visas – Students

Tier 4 (Students). We offer high-quality, cost-effective and efficient advice to people seeking to enter or remain in the UK for study, including:

• Post-study workers and International Graduates Scheme applicants
• Student nurses
• Postgraduate and undergraduate students
• Those resitting examinations or writing up theses
• Overseas-qualified nurses and midwives, postgraduate doctors and dentists
• Spouses or civil partners and children of students or prospective students
• Prospective students
• Student union sabbatical officers

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Visitor Visas – Skilled Worker & Minister of Religion

We advise people entering or remaining in the UK under two categories.

Tier 2 (Skilled Worker)

Formerly known as work permit holders.

• Work permit employment
• The Sectors-Based Scheme
• Representatives of overseas newspapers, news agencies and broadcasting organisations
• The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme

Tier 2 (Minister of Religion)

• Ministers of religion, missionaries and members of religious orders
• Visiting religious workers and religious workers in non-pastoral roles

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Visitor Visas – General, Investor, Entrepreneur & Post-Study

We advise people seeking to enter or stay in the UK as visitors, including tourist visitors, those in transit, private medical treatment, parents of a child at school, people visiting to marry, Approved Destination Status visitors from China, and student visitors.

Tier 1

• Investor: advice for applicants seeking to enter or remain in the UK under this route.
• Post-Study Work: advice for UK graduates seeking to enter or remain.
• General: formerly HSMP, for highly skilled migrants from anywhere in the world under the points-based system.
• Entrepreneur: advice for applicants seeking to enter or remain under this route.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Family Law

We give impartial, considerate advice on almost all family law matters, including divorce, child custody disputes, adoption proceedings and domestic violence. Our team is compassionate and experienced, and handles negotiated settlements and court representation to achieve the best outcomes for you and your family.

Main areas

• Financial settlement and ancillary relief
• Cohabitation
• Civil partnerships
• Divorce
• Children matters
• Pre-nuptial agreements

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Divorce

We are specialists in divorce and family law. We handle divorces on various grounds, quickly and at competitive prices, and offer a fixed fee for straightforward divorces.

Grounds for divorce

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behaviour
• Desertion
• Two years' separation
• Five years' separation

We can discuss how long court proceedings take and what they cost.

Financial settlement and ancillary relief

We deal with financial issues arising from divorce or relationship breakdown, including money, property, pensions and other assets. Factors such as the parties' ages, the length of the marriage and future financial needs are considered. We can negotiate settlements on your behalf.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Children Matters

We handle child arrangements matters regularly, including contact orders, residence orders and other issues about how children are raised.

Child Support Agency (CSA) and child maintenance

Our solicitors specialise in this technical area of family law, and can arrange a court order to protect you.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Cohabitation

We specialise in cases involving cohabitation and civil partnerships.

Cohabitation

We are one of the best firms in the North West at helping unmarried couples, and advise on the financial implications when a relationship breaks down.

Pre-nuptial agreements

We have substantial experience drafting pre-nuptial agreements before a civil partnership or marriage, tailored to your circumstances and needs.

Civil partnerships

We also handle relationship breakdowns between same-sex partners.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Domestic Violence

We provide caring, dedicated legal help to people affected by domestic violence. These cases are urgent and sensitive, and we support victims who want legal remedies, including:

• Obtaining a restraining order
• Filing for divorce or separation
• Pursuing criminal charges against an abuser

We put your safety first, guide you through each step of the legal process and refer you to other support services when needed.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Personal Injury

We are experts in compensation claim advice and representation for all personal injury cases. We are an established practice with a team of solicitors.

Claims are handled on a No Win No Fee basis, so you pay nothing to make a claim and keep 100% of your compensation. You can pursue justice without worrying about being out of pocket, whether you win or lose.

We help people injured in accidents that were not their fault, with no obligation. Speak with a personal injury solicitor from the start.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Personal Injury Services

We handle:

• Road traffic accidents
• Claims against uninsured drivers (MIB claims)
• Industrial disease claims
• Accidents at work
• Hit-and-run accidents
• Criminal injury compensation
• Slips and trips

If you have had an accident in the last three years, contact us. We aim to maximise your compensation, speed up the litigation process and let you keep the full amount awarded; legal costs are recovered separately from compensation. You may be able to claim for pain and suffering, lost earnings, repair and replacement costs and other losses from an accident that was not your fault.

We also handle clinical and personal injury litigation and family law litigation.

Conveyancing

We specialise in conveyancing law and help clients who are buying or selling property. Our team guides you through the process with precision and efficiency, aiming for transactions that are smooth and legally sound.

• Drafting contracts
• Carrying out property searches
• Handling negotiations

We are committed to protecting your interests every step of the way.

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.

Civil Litigation

We handle contract disputes, personal injury compensation and complex business conflicts, with pre-trial negotiation and courtroom advocacy from experienced litigators.

Civil litigation is a process for resolving public and private legal disputes through negotiation or the courts. The Civil Procedure Rules were introduced in 1999 to improve access to justice, and are known as the Woolf Reforms after Lord Woolf.

Lord Justice Jackson later recommended sweeping changes to litigation funding and solicitors' costs. Key proposals in his final report included:

• Success fees and ATE insurance premiums no longer recoverable
• General damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity to rise by 10 percent
• Success fees deducted from damages capped at 25 percent, excluding future care or losses
• No referral fees for solicitors in personal injury cases
• Fixed costs, proportionality, case and costs management with budgeting, and qualified one-way costs shifting

Speak directly with one of our specialist solicitors about your enquiry and how we may be able to help you. Request a free consultation through our contact form.