The deadline is nearly always in the first line of the email. Sometimes it is 3 weeks away and sometimes it is next Friday. Either way, the person writing has just realised that the medical evidence is the one piece they do not have yet. What they want from me is a straight answer about whether it can be done in time.
The plain question is how long an urgent immigration medical report really takes, and what has to happen for it to be ready before the date. The honest answer depends less on how quickly I write than on what arrives before I start.
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How long does an urgent immigration medical report take?
Reports are usually ready 48 to 72 hours after the assessment and after all records and instructions are in. That sentence carries 3 conditions, and each one is a place where time disappears. When an urgent request arrives, I work through them in order.
What exactly is due, and when
I ask for the date in writing and for what it actually is. A date by which evidence must reach the Home Office or the tribunal is different from the date of a hearing, and solicitors know that distinction far better than most applicants do. People applying on their own sometimes discover the difference only when we talk it through, and it changes the plan.
Which document answers the question
Not every deadline needs a full report. If the question is narrow, such as confirming a diagnosis and current treatment, a short immigration medical letter of 2 to 4 pages may be the right document, and it is a smaller piece of work. If the case turns on the effect of removal on someone's health, it needs a proper report, and a deadline does not change that. I would rather say so on the first call than produce something thin because the date was close.
Some deadlines concern something narrower still, such as the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK exemption, or a letter explaining that someone is unable to attend, sign or give biometrics. Those have their own fees: £180 to complete the exemption form, £550 for a full exemption report and £350 for the biometrics letter. They are smaller pieces of work again, though the assessment still comes first.
The records
This is where most urgent reports stall. GP records, hospital letters and previous reports can take longer to obtain than the assessment and the writing put together. Ask for them the day you decide to instruct, not the day after the assessment. If some records cannot arrive in time, I can work from what is available, and the report will say plainly what I did not see.
The person being assessed
Some people cannot manage a long appointment, need breaks, or are most comfortable in a language other than English. I need to know that before the slot is booked, not on the day. An assessment that has to stop halfway costs more time than one planned around the person from the start.
The assessment slot
Assessments are in person at Palmers Green, and a home visit examination can be arranged if travelling is not possible. The diary decides how soon that can happen. When you call, give me the date first, and we will look at what is genuinely available rather than what would be convenient to promise.
What does not change under pressure
Urgency changes the order of my week, not the content of the report. The history is taken properly, the examination is done, the records are read and the opinion is independent. If the time available is too short for that, I say so. That becomes a conversation between you and your solicitor about the date, rather than a reason to cut corners on the evidence.
Where the diary allows, a priority 24 hour service is available for 25 per cent more than the fee, subject to availability. It runs from the same starting point as the standard turnaround: after the assessment and after everything is in. Complex reports may need a longer window, and that window is stated at quotation, before you commit.
What should I send so the report is not held up?
The fastest reports I write are the ones where everything arrives together. Send:
- the date, in writing, and what it is for
- the questions the report needs to answer, or the decision you are responding to
- GP records, hospital letters and any previous medical reports
- your solicitor's details if you have one, and whether the case has legal aid
- the language you are most comfortable speaking, and anything that makes a long appointment hard
Solicitors will find more on framing the questions in the post on instructing a medical expert for an immigration tribunal. If you are applying without a solicitor, send what you have and tell me what is missing. Gaps are far easier to plan around when I know about them at the start.
If your health is getting worse while all this is going on, deal with that first. See your NHS GP, call NHS 111 when it cannot wait, and call 999 in an emergency. The evidence matters, but your care comes before it.
How does Clinique Alpa work to a deadline?
We agree scope, a fixed fee and a timescale before the assessment is booked, whether a solicitor instructs us directly or you contact us yourself. The fixed fees are £550 for a short immigration medical letter, £1,000 for a standard immigration medical report, £1,250 for a comprehensive immigration medico legal report and £1,500 for a complex asylum or immigration expert report. The priority service adds 25 per cent. Legal aid work is done at the authorised rate only, with prior authority. Any letter or report is written where clinically appropriate after assessment.
What each document covers, and how to tell which one you need, is set out in immigration medical report costs explained. The full price list sits on the medical report fees page.
A report written in 24 hours is held to the same standard as one written in a week. The time saved comes from the diary, never from the assessment.
This is an independent clinical opinion. It cannot be written to a required conclusion and does not guarantee the outcome of any claim, application, exemption or hearing.
Written by Dr Mitesh Parmar, MBBS MRCGP, Principal GP and Clinical Director at Clinique Alpa, 466 Green Lanes, Palmers Green, London N13 5PA. This article is general information, not personal medical advice. In an emergency call 999. For NHS advice call 111 or visit nhs.uk.