Comparisons · checked 7 November 2026
Immigration Advice Service vs Spouse Visa Helper
Quick answer
The Immigration Advice Service is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority and offers a document and application checking service and a full application package with a letter of representation; it doesn’t publish prices. Spouse Visa Helper is a free tracker for gathering the documents.
IAS checks or prepares the application for you; Spouse Visa Helper helps you gather and organise the documents yourself.
Prices and features checked 7 November 2026, as published on Immigration Advice Service’s own site.
At a glance
| What | Immigration Advice Service | Spouse Visa Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Not published on the pages we read | Free. The adviser’s check is £295 once advisers are agreed |
| Free | Guides, webinars and an ILR calculator | The whole tracker, letters, plan, costs, form guide and absence counter |
| What it is | A checking service, or a package that collates and checks the documents and submits them | An online tracker built from seven answers, kept in your browser or a free account |
| Covering letter | A letter of representation in its application package | Both covering letters built from your story, in your own words, with gaps marked |
| Run by | IAS, regulated by the IAA (F201100299) | An independent site. Not regulated: information, not immigration advice |
| Human check | Yes; turnaround not stated | Asked for here; £295 by a regulated adviser once advisers are agreed |
Features
| Feature | Immigration Advice Service | Spouse Visa Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Free to use | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works without an account | – | ✓ |
| List tailored to your answers | – | ✓ |
| Progress tracked per document | – | ✓ |
| Date windows worked out from your apply-on date | – | ✓ |
| Week-by-week plan to your apply-on date | – | ✓ |
| Covering letter | In its package | From your own words |
| Numbered document index | – | ✓ |
| Scans kept with each document | – | With a free account |
| Shared with your partner | – | Read-only link |
| Whole cost worked out | – | ✓ |
| Questions about the rules answered | – | Free, each answer linked to GOV.UK |
| Checked by a regulated adviser | ✓ | Being set up |
✓ yes · ✗ no · – not stated on their site
Where Immigration Advice Service is stronger
- Regulated advisers who can advise on your case, check your documents or take on the whole application.
- A letter of representation that argues your case, in its application package.
Where Spouse Visa Helper is stronger
- Free, with no account needed to start: seven answers and the list is there.
- Each document has a status and its own requirements to tick, so you can see what’s done, what’s to check and what’s left.
- Every date window is worked out from your apply-on date, such as the latest payslip dated 28 days or less before you apply.
- A week-by-week plan to your apply-on date, with a calendar file of it, and the whole cost including your own figures.
- A numbered index for the top of the bundle, a guide to which documents each part of the online form draws on, and a last check before you submit.
- Questions about the rules answered free, each answer linked to the GOV.UK page it comes from and to the documents on your list.
- Every price is on the page.
Which should you choose?
If you want an adviser to take the application on, IAS is one of the larger firms. If you’re doing it yourselves, Spouse Visa Helper organises the documents free, and you can still have them checked before you submit.
Questions
- How much does IAS charge for a spouse visa?
- Its application package, checking service and partner visa pages didn’t give a price on 7 November 2026; they ask you to get in touch.
Sources
Other comparisons: VisaVault, Immigration Start Guide, Migrate, Whytecroft Ford.