Every step between your first visa and your passport
Pick the stage you're at. Each service shows what we check, what it costs, and what usually comes next.
Settlement is where small mistakes cost the most. Before we prepare anything, we audit your whole qualifying period: every visa, every gap, every trip abroad.
What we check
- Continuous residence and time spent outside the UK
- Gaps between visas, and how each one was handled
- English language and Life in the UK requirements
- Which settlement route gives you the earliest safe date
Settlement rules are being reformed. We plan against the rules in force when you apply and flag proposals that could affect you, so your plan stays current.
Next on your route: British citizenship
Applying too early, or missing a good-character issue, can mean a refusal and a lost Home Office fee. We make sure the timing and the disclosures are right.
What we check
- When you become eligible, after settlement or through marriage
- Time outside the UK during the residential period
- Good-character disclosures, including minor offences and immigration history
- Registration for children, where a separate route may apply
Next on your route: your first British passport. That's the end of the road.
A partner visa is usually the first step on a longer road. We prepare the application and build an evidence file you'll reuse at extension and settlement. This covers spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner and fiancé(e) applications, from inside or outside the UK.
What we check
- The financial requirement, and which income sources count
- Relationship evidence that will stand up now and later
- Accommodation and English language requirements
- Timing, so an extension never leaves you with a gap
Next on your route: extension, then settlement
For employers sponsoring overseas staff: getting the licence, assigning certificates of sponsorship, and staying compliant between Home Office visits.
What we check
- Sponsor licence eligibility and key personnel
- HR systems and right-to-work checks
- Assigning certificates of sponsorship
- A compliance audit before any inspection
Next on your route: planning your sponsored workers' own routes to settlement.
A refusal usually comes with a short deadline, often 14 days if you're in the UK. Send us the decision letter and we'll review it the same working day.
What we check
- Whether you have a right of appeal, administrative review, or neither
- Whether a fresh application would be faster than a challenge
- What evidence was missing or misread
- Tribunal representation, where it's needed
Refused, or deadline close? Call our refusals line on 07700 900614, Monday to Friday, 9:00–17:30.
Out of hours? Email the decision to hello@lanternway.example and we'll call you first thing the next working day.
Not sure which of these you need?
That's what the route check is for. Up to five questions, no sign-up.