1. Introduction

Meridian Immigration Services Ltd ("Meridian", "we", "us" or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it and the rights available to you.

Meridian is the data controller for personal information processed in connection with enquiries, consultations, immigration advice and services, complaints, administration and use of our website. We process personal information in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and other applicable data protection and electronic communications law, as amended from time to time.

2. How to contact us

Questions about this policy or requests concerning your personal information should be sent to:

Email: info@meridianimmigration.co.uk

Telephone: +44 (0)20 3411 1535

Post: Meridian Immigration Services Ltd, 15 Hamilton Park West, Highbury, London N5 1AF

3. Personal information we may collect

Depending on your enquiry or matter, we may collect:

identity and contact information, including your name, date of birth, nationality, address, telephone number and email address;

passport, travel document, immigration status, visa, biometric residence and Home Office reference information;

immigration, travel, education, employment and family history;

information about your spouse, partner, children, dependants, sponsor, employer or other relevant people;

financial information, including income, savings, bank statements, tax records, benefits, accommodation and source-of-funds information;

documents, photographs, correspondence, witness evidence and information needed to assess, prepare or progress your matter;

records of consultations, telephone calls, emails, meetings, advice, instructions, invoices, payments and complaints;

website and technical information, such as your IP address, browser type, device information and cookie choices; and

any other information you provide or which is reasonably required to deliver our services or comply with our obligations.

4. Sensitive and criminal offence information

Immigration matters may require information revealing racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, health or disability, sexual orientation, biometric information, criminal convictions, allegations, cautions or offences. We will only use this information where it is relevant and where both a lawful basis and any additional condition required by data protection law apply. Depending on the circumstances, this may include explicit consent, legal claims or judicial purposes, substantial public interest or another condition permitted by law. The condition used will depend on the information and the purpose for which it is required.

5. How we obtain personal information

We may obtain personal information:

directly from you when you contact us, complete a form, attend a consultation or instruct us;

from family members, sponsors, employers, accountants or authorised representatives involved in your matter;

from the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration, HM Passport Office, courts, tribunals, public bodies or regulators;

from interpreters, translators, experts, counsel, solicitors or other professional service providers; and

from public registers, publicly available sources or third parties where you have authorised access or the law otherwise permits it.

If you provide information about another person, you should ensure that you are authorised to do so and, where appropriate, make this Privacy Policy available to them.

6. Why we use personal information

We may use personal information to:

respond to enquiries, arrange consultations and take steps requested before entering into a contract;

verify identity, assess conflicts, understand your circumstances and decide whether we can accept instructions;

provide immigration advice and services, prepare documents and applications, communicate with relevant authorities and manage your matter;

administer our client relationship, provide updates, issue invoices, record payments and maintain accounts;

meet legal, professional, insurance, tax, accounting, regulatory and record-keeping obligations;

prevent or detect fraud, protect our systems and establish, exercise or defend legal rights;

handle complaints and cooperate with the Immigration Advice Authority or another competent authority; and

operate, secure and improve our website and services.

7. Lawful bases

The lawful basis will depend on the purpose for which the information is used. We commonly rely on:

contract - where processing is necessary to enter into or perform our agreement with you;

legal obligation - where processing is necessary to meet an obligation imposed by law or regulation;

legitimate interests - where processing is necessary to operate and protect our practice, provide an effective service, recover properly due fees or establish and defend legal rights, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights; and

consent - where consent is the appropriate basis, including for particular optional communications or sensitive information in appropriate circumstances.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal will not affect processing that was lawful before consent was withdrawn, and it may not prevent processing where another lawful basis applies.

8. Who we may share information with

Where necessary and lawful, we may share personal information with:

the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration, HM Passport Office, courts, tribunals and other public authorities;

the Immigration Advice Authority, our professional indemnity insurer, auditors, accountants and professional advisers;

interpreters, translators, experts, barristers, solicitors, couriers and other service providers involved in your matter;

website, email, cloud storage, case-management, payment, cybersecurity and information technology providers acting under appropriate contractual controls;

a person you authorise us to communicate with, such as a family member, sponsor or representative; and

law-enforcement bodies, courts, regulators or other persons where disclosure is required or permitted by law or necessary to protect legal rights.

We do not sell personal information. We require service providers handling personal information for us to protect it and use it only for the agreed purpose.

9. International transfers

Some technology or professional service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we will use a transfer mechanism permitted by UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations, the International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum or another appropriate safeguard. You may contact us for further information about the safeguards relevant to your information.

10. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet legal, professional, regulatory, tax, insurance and accounting requirements.

Client files and supporting records are normally retained for six years after the matter is closed.

Information relating only to an enquiry that does not lead to instructions will normally be retained for up to 12 months, unless there is a reason to keep it longer or you request earlier deletion and no lawful reason requires retention.

Financial, complaint, regulatory or risk-management records may be retained for the period required by law or reasonably necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

Information may be retained for longer where a complaint, investigation, dispute, litigation hold, safeguarding concern or legal obligation makes this necessary. At the end of the relevant period, information will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymised.

11. Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. Access is restricted to people who need the information for a legitimate purpose and who are subject to confidentiality obligations. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we review our safeguards and respond to suspected personal data breaches in accordance with applicable law.

12. Your data protection rights

Subject to the circumstances and any applicable legal exemptions, you may have the right to:

request access to your personal information and a copy of it;

ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;

ask us to erase information or restrict its use;

object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing;

receive certain information in a portable format;

withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and

complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

These rights are not absolute. We may need to retain or continue using information where the law permits or requires it. We may ask for information to verify your identity before responding to a request. We do not use solely automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on clients.

13. Children

Immigration matters may require us to process information about children. We will only collect information that is relevant to the matter and will handle it with particular care. Instructions and authority will normally be obtained from a parent, guardian or other person legally authorised to act, where appropriate.

14. Cookies and website information

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies. Cookies that are necessary for the website to function may be used without consent where the law permits. Optional analytics or marketing cookies will be used only in accordance with the choices presented through our cookie banner. You can change your choices through the website's cookie settings and may also control cookies through your browser. Disabling necessary cookies may affect website functions.

15. Marketing

We will only send direct marketing where the law permits. You may opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe option in a message or contacting us. Service communications about an enquiry or active matter are not marketing and may still be sent where necessary.

16. Complaints about our use of information

Please contact us first if you have concerns about how we have used your personal information so that we can try to resolve them. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Information about raising a data protection complaint is available at:

Make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office

A complaint about our immigration advice or services may be made under our separate Complaints Handling Procedure, available through the footer of our website. That procedure does not restrict your data protection rights.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in law, regulation, technology or our services. The current version will be published on our website with its effective date. Where a change materially affects how we use existing client information, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of affected clients.