How Much Does a Judicial Review Cost?

Key Points

• The tribunal fees for an immigration judicial review in the UTIAC are £174 to file the application and £874 if the claim proceeds to a full hearing after permission is granted on the papers – a total fee liability of £1,048 if the case runs to conclusion without an oral renewal.
• Solicitor and counsel fees represent the biggest cost. Depending on the complexity and the lawyers involved, total legal fees from pre-action to the substantive hearing typically range from £5,000 to over £15,000, plus VAT.
• An unsuccessful claimant may face a costs order covering the Home Office’s legal costs: ordinarily £500 to £1,500 if permission is refused (the cost of the Acknowledgement of Service), and potentially much higher if the claim reaches a full hearing.
• Legal aid for immigration judicial review is available only in limited circumstances under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Fee remission on tribunal fees is available through the Help with Fees scheme for applicants meeting income and savings thresholds.
• Cases resolved at the pre-action protocol stage avoid most costs entirely: no permission fee, no continuation fee, and no counsel’s brief fee for a hearing that never takes place.
• Law Lane Solicitors undertakes legal aid instructions for immigration judicial review.

The cost of a judicial review in immigration cases is layered: tribunal fees at each procedural stage, solicitor’s fees for preparation and drafting, counsel’s fees if a barrister is instructed for hearings, and the risk of a costs order if the claim is unsuccessful. Understanding each layer before proceedings are issued is not optional caution; it is a basic requirement of informed decision-making. A claim that is legally sound but financially unsustainable for the claimant requires a clear funding plan before it is issued.

The figures set out below reflect the fee structure following the April 2025 fee uprating, in which the Ministry of Justice increased court and tribunal fees across 171 categories by 3.2% to reflect CPI inflation from March 2023 to March 2024.

Tribunal and Court Fees

A statutory instrument fixes the fees payable to the court or tribunal and is identical regardless of who represents you. In the UTIAC from April 2025, the applicable fees are as follows:

• Permission application (UTIAC1): £174
• Oral renewal of a refused permission decision: £438
• Continuation fee where permission is granted at an oral renewal: £436
• Continuation fee where permission is granted on the papers: £874
• Urgent consideration application (UTIAC5): £290
• Application to set aside a “totally without merit” finding: £114

In the Administrative Court, the same permission fee of £174 applies, with an oral renewal fee of £438 and a continuation fee (after permission on the papers) of £874. If the case settles or is resolved before the continuation fee falls due, that fee is not payable. Court fees are non-refundable once paid, but they are recoverable as costs from the Home Office if the claim succeeds and a costs order is made in the claimant’s favour.

Solicitor and Counsel Fees

Legal representation fees are the highest cost in a judicial review claim. They vary substantially depending on the complexity of the case, the seniority of the solicitors involved, and the stage of the proceedings. Indicative ranges are as follows:

• Pre-Action Protocol letter: £1500 to £2,500 plus VAT, depending on the complexity of the decision and the length of legal argument required.
• Permission application, covering drafting the statement of grounds and the bundle: £1,500-£4,000 plus VAT.
• Oral renewal hearing, if permission is refused on the papers: £800 to £2,000 plus VAT for a barrister’s brief fee.
• Full hearing representation: £2,000 to £6,000 plus VAT for counsel’s brief fee, with additional solicitor preparation time on top.

Total legal costs from instruction through to a substantive hearing typically range from £5,000 to £15,000, plus VAT, for a standard immigration judicial review claim. More complex cases, those involving multiple grounds, substantial documentary evidence, or novel points of law, can exceed that range. Hourly rates for solicitors in London immigration practices generally run from £200 to £460 per hour, depending on seniority, and preparing for a judicial review can involve 15 to 40 hours of fee-earner time across all stages.

Some immigration solicitors offer fixed-fee arrangements for discrete stages of the judicial review process. A fixed-fee PAP letter provides certainty at the pre-action stage, when a significant proportion of cases resolve without further proceedings. Discuss the available arrangements and the conditions that apply to each with your solicitor before instruction.

You can view our immigration law fees on our pricing page.

Costs at Risk if the Claim Fails

The general rule in civil litigation is that the unsuccessful party pays the costs of the successful party. In immigration judicial review, this means that a claimant whose claim is refused permission or who loses at a full hearing may face a costs order in favour of the Home Office.

Where permission is refused, the Home Office will ordinarily seek its costs of preparing the Acknowledgement of Service, typically in the range of £500 to £1,500, subject to the court’s discretion. The judge refusing permission will usually indicate the proposed costs order in the refusal decision, and the claimant has 14 days to make representations before it is finalised.

Where the claim proceeds to a full hearing and is dismissed, the Home Office’s recoverable costs will be higher, potentially £5,000 to £20,000 or more, depending on the level of preparation required. These figures reflect the Home Office’s legal costs assessed at standard rates. The Tribunal will not allow costs that were unreasonably incurred or disproportionate to the issues in question, but the exposure is real and should be factored into the decision to issue proceedings.

Conversely, where the claim succeeds, whether at a full hearing or through settlement in the claimant’s favour, the claimant is entitled to seek a costs order against the Home Office. The leading authority is M v London Borough of Croydon [2012] EWCA Civ 595, where the Court of Appeal confirmed that where a defendant concedes the substantive claim after proceedings are issued, the claimant should ordinarily recover costs from the date of issue, subject to the court’s assessment of the conduct of the parties and compliance with the pre-action protocol. The Home Office frequently agrees to pay the claimant’s reasonable costs where the decision to withdraw was clearly compelled by the legal error identified in the claim.

Funding Options

Legal aid for immigration judicial review is available only in limited circumstances under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Funding is primarily available for asylum and protection-related judicial review claims that pass both a merits test and a means assessment. Visa refusals, most ILR refusals, and citizenship refusals do not qualify. Where legal aid is available, a solicitor registered with the Legal Aid Agency must be instructed.

The Help with Fees scheme (form EX160) provides remission of court and tribunal fees for applicants who meet the income and savings thresholds. For a single person under 66 with no children, the disposable capital threshold is £4,250. Applicants receiving Income Support, Universal Credit with earnings below £6,000 per year, or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) are entitled to a full fee remission, subject to a savings limit. A partial remission is available on a sliding scale for those on low incomes who do not receive a qualifying benefit. The application must be submitted alongside the claim form.

Private clients who do not qualify for legal aid will generally fund judicial review proceedings through a private retainer on a fixed-fee or time-charged basis. Conditional fee agreements (CFAs) are available in some cases, though their use in judicial review is restricted by the rules governing public law litigation. The availability and terms of any funding arrangement should be discussed and agreed upon before signing a retainer.

To discuss the costs and merits of a potential judicial review, contact Law Lane Solicitors’ immigration law team. Please note that the figures quoted in this article are indicative only.

This article does not constitute legal advice.

Author – Ghulam Mustafa

Ghulam Mustafa is a co-founding Director and Deputy Managing Director at Law Lane Solicitors. A dual-capacity Barrister regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB ID: B657E4998C050554521F2CF085E3D0C9) and authorised to appear in all courts in England and Wales, he also holds non-practising solicitor status (SRA ID: 568972). Ghulam leads the firm’s Immigration & Asylum department and is Law Society-accredited as a Supervising Senior Case Worker. His practice spans immigration, asylum, human rights, judicial reviews, family law, and criminal defence. Having practised law in the UK since 2005, he brings two decades of legal experience to every client matter.

Immigration Judicial Review Costs FAQs