Immigration intake

Immigration consultation form: UK questions and free template

An immigration consultation form should collect the facts needed to understand the enquiry before an appointment, without turning the form itself into immigration advice.

Essential immigration intake questions

• Full name and contact details
• Nationality and current country of residence
• The visa, application or immigration route involved
• Current UK immigration status, where relevant
• Permission or visa expiry date
• A concise description of the help required
• Only the documents genuinely useful for an initial review

Ask about current status and expiry dates separately

A person's current immigration status and the date that status expires answer different operational questions. The route or status helps the adviser understand the context of the enquiry, while an expiry date can affect how urgently the enquiry should be reviewed.

Give expiry dates their own field rather than leaving them buried inside a free-text description. That makes it much easier for a practice to sort new enquiries by urgency and avoids relying on staff to notice a deadline hidden inside a long paragraph.

Use route-based branching instead of one giant questionnaire

A Skilled Worker enquiry, spouse or partner application, visitor matter, student issue and appeal do not need identical first-stage questions. Start with the broad route, then reveal only the follow-up questions relevant to that answer.

Branching reduces form length for the respondent and also improves the quality of the information received. Someone asking about a work route can be asked about sponsorship or employer context, while a family-route enquiry can be shown different questions without forcing both users through the same irrelevant fields.

Do not make the form look like legal advice

The form should be framed as information collection for an initial review. In the UK, immigration advice is regulated. GOV.UK states that immigration advisers must be registered with the Immigration Advice Authority or be members of an approved professional body, while solicitors and barristers are regulated through their own professional bodies.

That distinction matters for wording. A form can ask which route a person is considering or what outcome they are seeking, but it should not present automated statements as if the form has determined eligibility or given regulated advice.

Be careful with document uploads at the enquiry stage

Immigration matters can involve passports, biometric documents, financial records, relationship evidence and other sensitive material. A first-stage form should only ask for documents that are genuinely useful for the initial review rather than inviting an applicant to upload their entire file before the practice knows what it needs.

If more evidence is required, the practice can request it after reviewing the enquiry. This keeps the first form shorter and aligns better with the ICO's data-minimisation principle.

Collect enough information to make the consultation useful

The best intake form gives the adviser enough context to prepare for the conversation without trying to replace that conversation. A concise summary of the problem, the route involved, current status, key dates and the outcome the person is seeking usually provides a better starting point than dozens of detailed questions.

The confirmation message should also explain what happens next — for example, whether the team will review the enquiry before offering an appointment or whether an existing consultation booking still needs to be confirmed.

Use the free Formni immigration enquiry template

The template includes nationality, location, route, current status, expiry date, a summary and optional documents. Every field is editable, so firms can adapt the intake to the work they actually handle rather than using one oversized generic questionnaire.