Most people ask about the fee a little apologetically, as if the question were rude. It is not rude. It is the right thing to settle before anyone books anything, and you should not need a phone call to find the answer. So the figures come first.
This is what an immigration medical report costs at Clinique Alpa. Each is a fixed fee, agreed before the assessment:
- short immigration medical letter, 2 to 4 pages: £550
- standard immigration medical report, 5 to 8 pages: £1,000
- comprehensive immigration medico legal report, 8 to 15 pages: £1,250
- complex asylum or immigration expert report, up to about 20 pages: £1,500
Legal aid work is done at the authorised rate only, with prior authority. The useful question after the figures is which of these you actually need, and what the fee does and does not pay for.
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Which immigration report do I actually need?
When a request comes in, I look at the question before the page count. The length of a report follows from what it has to answer, never the other way round, and the tier is agreed at quotation once I know what is involved.
What makes one case more work than another
The work in a report is mostly reading and thinking, not typing. A file of 200 pages of GP records takes time to read properly, and a question about the effect of removal on someone's health takes longer to reason through than a question about current treatment. That is why the tiers exist, and why I would rather quote once, accurately, than revise a figure halfway through the work.
A short letter
The £550 letter covers an assessment and a signed letter of 2 to 4 pages. It fits a narrow question: confirming a diagnosis, the current treatment and how a condition affects someone day to day. If a letter answers the question, you do not need to pay for a report, and I will tell you so.
A standard or comprehensive report
The £1,000 standard report adds a review of the records to the assessment, with a written report of 5 to 8 pages. It usually suits a single main issue and a manageable set of records. The £1,250 comprehensive report, 8 to 15 pages, is usually for cases with more records or more than one issue, for example a condition and its treatment alongside Article 8 health grounds. It includes a full medico legal report.
A complex expert report
The £1,500 report, up to about 20 pages, is for complex asylum or immigration cases, typically with several issues, a large volume of records, or Article 3 health grounds argued alongside other questions. Where scarring and injury documentation is involved, I agree the scope once I know what the examination will cover. The post on scarring reports for an asylum claim explains that examination.
Smaller pieces of immigration work
Two related pieces have their own fees. For the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK exemption, completing the form is £180 and a full report is £550; the post on the Life in the UK test medical exemption explains the doctor's part. A letter confirming that someone is unable to attend, sign or give biometrics is £350. Letters are provided where clinically appropriate after assessment.
Psychiatric questions
Where the central question is psychiatric, such as a disputed diagnosis, a consultant psychiatrist report may be the right instruction instead. Those reports are arranged individually, and the fee is confirmed before anything is booked. I would rather point you there at the start than write you a GP report that cannot answer the question.
Time
Reports are usually ready 48 to 72 hours after the assessment and after all records and instructions are in. A priority 24 hour service is available for 25 per cent more, subject to the diary. Complex reports may need a longer window, which is stated at quotation. If there is no fixed date, the standard turnaround is usually enough. If you are working to a date, the post on Home Office deadlines and medical reports sets out what is realistic.
What does an immigration medical report cost under legal aid?
If your solicitor is acting for you under legal aid, the report is done at the authorised rate only, and only once your solicitor has prior authority in place. In practice, your solicitor arranges that authority before instructing us, and the fee is the authorised rate rather than the private fees listed above.
If you have a solicitor and are not sure whether your case is legally aided, ask them before you pay privately. It is a short conversation, and it is better had first. If the case is not legally aided, the fixed fees apply, and the scope is agreed before any assessment is booked.
What does the fee pay for, and what should I send?
The fee pays for the assessment, the reading of the records and the writing of an independent opinion. It does not buy a conclusion. A report that finds less than someone hoped costs the same as one that finds more, because the work is the same. If more records arrive later or further questions are asked, any extra work is agreed with you before it is done.
The more I know at the start, the more accurate the scope. For a quote, send:
- what the evidence is for, or the questions your solicitor wants answered
- any deadline, in writing
- a list of the records you hold
- whether the case has legal aid
- the language you are most comfortable speaking
- whether you can travel to Palmers Green, or need a home visit examination
How does Clinique Alpa agree the fee?
Solicitors can instruct directly, and individuals can contact us themselves. We agree scope, the fixed fee and a timescale first, and the assessment is in person at 466 Green Lanes, Palmers Green, or by home visit examination where that is arranged. Solicitors deciding who to instruct may find the post on instructing a medical expert for an immigration tribunal useful. The full price list is on the medical report fees page.
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.