Comparisons · checked 7 November 2026
Migrate vs Spouse Visa Helper
Quick answer
Migrate is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Its Application Checking Service reads your documents and form for £850 (£550 for its old DIY pack customers) and reports within five working days; full representation is £2,700. Spouse Visa Helper is a free tracker for gathering the documents in the first place.
They do different jobs: Spouse Visa Helper helps you gather and organise the bundle; Migrate checks it, or prepares the whole application. Its DIY pack is no longer available for new enquiries.
Prices and features checked 7 November 2026, as published on Migrate’s own site.
At a glance
| What | Migrate | Spouse Visa Helper |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Check £850, or £550 with its DIY pack; full representation £2,700 including VAT where applicable | Free. The adviser’s check is £295 once advisers are agreed |
| Free | Guidance articles | The whole tracker, letters, plan, costs, form guide and absence counter |
| What it is | A written red, amber and green report and a call, or the whole application done for you | An online tracker built from seven answers, kept in your browser or a free account |
| Covering letter | A legal covering letter with full representation | Both covering letters built from your story, in your own words, with gaps marked |
| Run by | Migrate, regulated by the IAA (F201800071) | An independent site. Not regulated: information, not immigration advice |
| Human check | Yes, within 5 working days | Asked for here; £295 by a regulated adviser once advisers are agreed |
Features
| Feature | Migrate | 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 | With representation | From your own words |
| Numbered document index | – | ✓ |
| Scans kept with each document | An upload portal for the check | 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 Migrate is stronger
- A regulated adviser reads your documents and form against the rules and tells you in writing what to fix.
- It can take on the whole application, including a legal covering letter and dealing with the Home Office.
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.
- Our adviser’s check, once advisers are agreed, is £295 for the whole bundle.
Which should you choose?
Use Spouse Visa Helper to gather and organise the documents free, then, if you want a regulated adviser to read them before you pay the fee, Migrate’s check is one option.
Questions
- How much does Migrate charge to check a spouse visa application?
- £850, or £550 for customers of its DIY pack, on 7 November 2026, with feedback within five working days. Full representation was £2,700 including VAT where applicable.
- Is Migrate’s DIY pack still available?
- Its page said the DIY Application Pack was no longer available for new enquiries on 7 November 2026.
Sources
Other comparisons: VisaVault, Immigration Start Guide, Immigration Advice Service, Whytecroft Ford.