Comparisons · checked 7 November 2026
Immigration Start Guide vs Spouse Visa Helper
Quick answer
Immigration Start Guide sells a $97 PDF toolkit: a long guide, worksheets, a 28-day filing planner and a cover letter blueprint, with a free one-page checklist. Spouse Visa Helper is free and online: the list is built from your answers, and it tracks each document with its dates worked out.
Immigration Start Guide is reading and worksheets you fill in by hand; Spouse Visa Helper works the same things out from your answers and keeps them up to date as you go.
Prices and features checked 7 November 2026, as published on Immigration Start Guide’s own site.
At a glance
| What | Immigration Start Guide | Spouse Visa Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $97, with a full refund at any time; rule updates emailed free | Free. The adviser’s check is £295 once advisers are agreed |
| Free | A quick-start checklist, for your email address | The whole tracker, letters, plan, costs, form guide and absence counter |
| What it is | 10 PDFs: a 14-chapter guide and 8 worksheets | An online tracker built from seven answers, kept in your browser or a free account |
| Covering letter | A cover letter blueprint (template) | Both covering letters built from your story, in your own words, with gaps marked |
| Run by | Not stated on the page | An independent site. Not regulated: information, not immigration advice |
| Human check | None | Asked for here; £295 by a regulated adviser once advisers are agreed |
Features
| Feature | Immigration Start Guide | Spouse Visa Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Free to use | A one-page checklist | ✓ |
| Works without an account | ✓ | ✓ |
| List tailored to your answers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Progress tracked per document | A printable worksheet | ✓ |
| Date windows worked out from your apply-on date | Explained, not worked out | ✓ |
| Week-by-week plan to your apply-on date | A 28-day planner (PDF) | ✓ |
| Covering letter | Template | From your own words |
| Numbered document index | Template | ✓ |
| Scans kept with each document | ✗ | With a free account |
| Shared with your partner | ✗ | Read-only link |
| Whole cost worked out | A fee worksheet | ✓ |
| 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 Start Guide is stronger
- A longer guide to read through, with worksheets for company directors and particular countries.
- Free emailed updates when the rules change, and a refund with no time limit.
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.
- The list is chosen by your answers, where the guide has you sort yourself into a category with a flowchart.
Which should you choose?
If you like to read the whole picture and fill in worksheets by hand, the guide is thorough. If you’d rather have the list, dates and plan worked out for you and kept up to date, Spouse Visa Helper does that free.
Questions
- How much is the Immigration Start Guide spouse visa guide?
- It was $97 on 7 November 2026, with a full refund at any time, and its quick-start checklist was free for an email address.
- Does it work out the 28-day payslip window for me?
- It explains the 28-day window and gives a planner to fill in. Spouse Visa Helper works the dates out from the day you plan to apply and shows them on each document.
Sources
Other comparisons: VisaVault, Migrate, Immigration Advice Service, Whytecroft Ford.