Who We Are

We are an independent law firm providing immigration advice and assistance for overseas and in country applicants for their visa applications, appeals, detention issues.

Kindly view our ‘website page’ for more details about us.

Our website address is: https://uk-sovereign.co.uk/.

Introduction

Here at UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services, we take our legal obligations to your privacy and confidentiality seriously.

For the purposes of processing individual or company applications we use a wide range of client personal data so that we are able to provide each one of our clientele with high quality immigration legal advice and services.

Below we outline your rights regarding the;

Use and retention of your personal data and details of the purpose

Why we use your personal data

Our legal obligations to adhere to the strict laws binding us as a business under the new EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

The new Data Protection Act (2018) has enhanced the rights of data subjects (individuals/clients) and the obligations of those (businesses/service providers, such as us, who use, store and process their client data as defined in the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

This document has been written with a view to providing you with a clear simplified statement about our legal obligations to you and to meet the requirements under the above legislation; to ensure that our business service users are fully aware of how we collate, use and store your personal data whilst we provide you with our services.

Our Statement

In the statement below reference is made to different sections of the relevant laws governing the GDPR (herein referred to as ‘Articles’) however further information can be found at https://gdpr-info.eu/

We have no direct or non direct association with the above website hence we cannot guarantee that it will be available at all times or that the information it contains will always be accurate.

Further information can be found and rechecked double check via the European Commission or Information Commissioner’s websites.

‘UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services’ (The Data Controller)

‘UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services’) is a law firm of immigration lawyers who specialise solely in the provision of immigration advice and services.

Our office (Document Postal address) is

UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services, Suite 2, 4 Blenheim Court
Peppercorn Close
Peterborough
PE1 2DU

If you wish to obtain further information regarding your privacy and data handling matters; you may contact us via email at info@uk-sovereign.co.uk

We are accredited by the Law Society (LS0323786) and regulated by the OISC Registration No: F201800099. 

Visiting Our Website – How Information is Collected and Processed

Our web server in which we host our website is privately owned by us and located within the European Union.  Like many; our web server will automatically record the IP address and page of those who visit our website and this data is stored in ‘log files’ securely. 

Whilst new log entries are made, the old log entries are removed and all data contained within the logs is consequently refreshed on a rolling basis. 

We do not attempt to identify individuals unless we are obliged to investigate criminal or suspicious activity.

To help you understand this notice, definitions of the key terms used are provided below of this document;

Legal basis for processing

Legitimate interest, Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR

Our legitimate interest

We have a legitimate interest in using log data to ensure the security of our server and the continuity and information security of the website that it hosts.

Duration and erasure

This data is continually replaced and whilst the frequency of this varies on the traffic our website received, we do not anticipate that the data will be retained for longer than a month.

Disclosure

We may be required to disclose this information for the purposes of fraud, money laundering, crime detection and prevention.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service Privacy Policy is available here. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

Cookies are small data files which are stored on and exchanged between the Business website (Us) and our visitor’s (You) device, such as a phone, computer or tablet, so that ‘browsing sessions’ are identified.

Usage of cookies

This allows the Business website (Us) to understand the usage of our website which can include; how the visitor found our website, the amount of time the visitor has spent in here and the specific information pages they have viewed or visited on our website.

Cookies are designed to hold a fair amount of data specific to our website visitors and for us; the information can then be accessed either by our web server or the client computer.

This then also allows the server (Our website server) to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.

Cookies are also considered to be ‘online identifiers’ and can be used in conjunction with other data, such as web server logs, to uniquely identify website users. However do not attempt such data manipulation and cookie data on our web server and is therefore periodically removed.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking and monitor your interaction with that embedded content – including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

What Information Do We Collect And Process When You Visit Our Website

When you complete our online contact form on our website, we collect the following data if you provide them:

• Your Name
• A Telephone Number
• An Email Address
• What Type of Help is Required
• Any optional message from you

Once you send the inquiry through our website, the information you provide is then transferred from your web browser to our web server in an encrypted format under SSL. (SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer). This SSL is a technology that enables browsers and servers to transmit and receive data securely in an encrypted connection called HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure). 

Our Case Management System

Once this data is received on our web server, it is then sent to our Case Management System (CMS) called ‘My Learned Friend’, a software tool in an encrypted format under SSL. 

This data is then held securely in our bespoke and exclusive software CSM – ‘My Learned Friend’, to which access is restricted to our personnel and a uniquely generated username and password which is only accessed from our main office. 

Who We Share Your Data With

Information provided to us from our clients are for our sole purposes only and none of the information provided by our service users is sold or passed over to other companies, organisations, or telesales etc.

When you authorise our law firm to deal with your legal matter

We will ask for you to complete an authorisation form – which includes the only statement as ‘I am the person named above; I consent and give authority to UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services to act on my behalf in relation to my asylum/immigration matter for the UK (and any dependents included in my application or legal matter)’ AND

‘Where access to my medical records or contact to other relevant authorities is required for the purpose of processing my legal matter; UK Sovereign Visa & Immigrations Services has the authority to obtain this information on my behalf’.

Furthermore, the information provided by you to us, is held strictly for the purpose of processing our client legal matters with us. Where your personal data may be required to be shared with any third party will require your prior authorisation and only in the necessity and interest of your legal matter or in circumstances of disclosure as listed below.

All Data Gathered and Processed When You Call us/or become our client

Our company director is the first point of contact when our prospective clients make contact with us by phone, email or our website contact form.  During this initial interaction the data that is gathered during this time is critical to the process of becoming a client. This is called the ‘Initial Inquiry’.  

During the ‘Initial Inquiry’ a circumstantial assessment is made and it will be here that it will become necessary for us to request your personal data, which will be stored alongside your personal circumstances along with the advice given to you at this initial stage. This is stored in our Case Management System (CMS) called ‘My Learned Friend.

In order to assess correctly your personal circumstances and the type of visa you require for the UK, it will be necessary to request information about any criminal convictions you may have and any previous visa refusal history that may be relevant.

Any documents pertaining to any of these issues may require the request of previous Home Office refusal letters, notices given, Passport Stamps or Vignettes or Immigration and Asylum Court Decisions you may have had, these will be important to assess your circumstances, merits of applying for new visas etc and forms part of our initial and ongoing legal advice to you. This information will be required to be held on our (CMS) system. Your initial contact, personal data collected, your instructions, our advice and any documents you provide at this initial stage are classified as ‘Lead’ and will be stored under this category.

Where our prospective client at (initial inquiry) then assigns us as their legal representatives to handle their legal matter; all data held in the ‘Lead’ file will be transferred over to ‘New Case Matter’, once the application fee is paid.

We emphasise that access to this CMS system is strictly held within our own official control and is bound by restricted access only. 

We do not audio record calls at this stage; however should this become a necessity in the interest of our clients and us as a legal firm we will notify such changes in our privacy policy here. Any calls made to you or received from you are strictly verbally recorded on our CMS only, for our purposes and our regulators (OISC) purpose only.

Your contact details such as email, address and/or telephone numbers are held for the purposes of making contact with you again should you require our services in the future, this may be in the case where you may be coming close to the expiration of a current UK visa or for sending to you our own exclusive offers and for our business analysis/performance only.

As per our duties as an immigration advisory service, we are required to hold your file with us for 6 years after which your file records are permanently deleted from our records and systems.

The Data Gathered and Processed When you Make Payment to Us

As per our business settings and the fact that we process immigration and asylum applications; we also handle your fees and disbursements for your legal matters. At the current time when we request payment from you for our services, we provide you with our company bank details to where payments are made. Once we issue an invoice to you, we request payment to our business account after which our services to you begin.

Therefore in this regard we do not have direct payment details held for you. However should you be required to make payment for your online visa applications or disbursements we will only contact you by phone, take the payment details which are entered directly to the relevant website (such as UKVI Online Visa application or VFS). We strictly do not hold your card/payment details with us.

For the purposes of accounting and payment record, we do however hold information relating to payments that have been made to us and to which invoice or disbursement those payments were in respect of.

Data Gathered and Processed By Our Legal Team

In order to complete our work related directly to your legal matter we have a need to hold a wide variety of personal data in order to provide the wide range of legal advice and services that we offer.

This is held in two ways; Personal data is any data that identifies you or relates to you as an individual. Such as, your name or your email addresses.

Individual category data, however, is a particular set of data that, as the GDPR defines it, reveals “racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation”.

Personal Data

By obtaining your personal data, UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services (The Controller’) or (the ‘Processor’ ) will use this information in order to set up your physical and electronic file with us on our CMS.

This allows us to start the process for your legal matter and also for our use so that we are able to identify each client, be able to follow your case matter smoothly and also that you do not need to repeat or provide the information again to us.

This information also forms our ‘contract’ with you and our legal obligations to you, once payment for our invoice has been made to us, you have signed our authority form and we furnish you with our client care letter.

Definitions of Personal Data

1. ‘Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable person; an identifiable person is one who can be identified by reference to an identifier such as a name, identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more combinations of factors that can identify an individual person
2. ‘Processing’ means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction
3. ‘Controller’ means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law
4. ‘Processor’ means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller
5. ‘Special categories’ of personal data is that related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, and the processing of genetic data, bio-metric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation
6. In essence, we take extreme care and exercise caution with regards to holding client personal data and Individual data to ensure that client confidentiality is respected and that legally privileged information is not shared unless absolutely necessary to the performance of a client’s instructions (an example of this would be providing a barrister a copy of a client’s court bundle in order that the barrister can prepare thoroughly and best represent the client in court).

Special Category Data and Information Related to Criminal Offences and Convictions

Special category data (see above definition) may be required to be processed in the performance of a client’s instructions to us however, when this is required is difficult to predict and whether this is required.

In many of the immigration and asylum visa categories; applicants are required disclose and declare any criminal convictions. Perhaps in some they may not, however this is very much dependent on the type of application being made. If the applicant is applying for administrative review or is liable to civil penalties they may not be required in the first instance, however it may become apparent that subsequently there may be a need to rely on this data at a later stage.

To ensure a clear understanding of any legal matter or application, we will request the explicit consent of all our clients to disclose this information to us in order to process their special category data in their best interest. It is a must that we are provided with prior consent since this form the legal basis on which special category data can be processed by us.

The Storage of Special Category Data and That Relating to Criminal Offences and Convictions

When such information is provided by you by form of a physical letter we will photocopy this and the originals returned to you by post/collection. When this has been copied it will be placed in our CMS system in your individual electronic file as an electronic record.

If you email this required information to us, the contents and email will be kept with your electronic file on our CMS system.

Disclosure and exchange of such information

In order to provide you with the best of services in relation to your instructions to us, it may be necessary to disclose or exchange your special category data or data relating to any criminal offences and convictions, to people or bodies other than the employees of UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services. 

We process your data which is conformed to strict access only for the case worker handling your case matter of UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services.

There are however a limited number of ‘authorities’ to whom it may be required to disclose your special category information to. The following are examples of ‘authorities’ that we may be required to disclosed such information to; 

• The Home Office (UKVI- UK Visas And Immigration) which includes The Secretary of State for the Home Office Department, Home Office Presenting Officers and caseworkers within the Home Office as the body with whom all applications, extensions are lodged and who are the respondent in reviews and appeals.
• We may require access to information held with such authorities, specifically known as ‘Subject Access Request’ from the Home Office on your behalf, this may hold information about you with the authorities which hold special category data relating to criminal convictions or offences
• Barristers’ Chambers (including barristers and clerks) where a complex matter requires specialist advice or when we seek counsel representation for Reviews or Appeals in court for your legal matter
• Medical Professionals and Experts; with your prior permission we may seek medical reports or an expert opinion
• Social Services, where it may be necessary, with your prior permission, to seek reports or expert opinion
• The Probation Service and other Ministry of Justice bodies and Prisons and Detention Centres, where, with the data subject’s permission, we may seek reports and data on criminal offences, convictions and sentencing and rehabilitation

1. Interpreters and Translators, where it may be necessary to have documents translated or for speech to be interpreted for the purposes of translation services of documents related to your case matter or interviews
2. Police or other law enforcement bodies where we have a legal obligation to disclose your data or have been legally compelled to do so
3. Other firms of Solicitors where, from time to time, it may be necessary to request documents relating to any previous instruction handled by another firm
4. Or where we are required by you to forward on your file held with us to a new set of lawyers to continue dealing with your legal matter

The above list is not exhaustive, however where we are instructed in the first instance by you to deal with your legal matter, our authority form states clearly that we will have your authority to deal with your legal matter, obtain medical records on your behalf if required by your case and instructions or where contact with relevant authorities is required. 

However the list outlined above relates to special category data or to data concerning criminal offences and convictions.

Retention and Destruction of Special Category Data held on file with us

We hold an electronic file record on our secure CMS system and also a paper form file for each of our clientele. However as per our obligation and duty to our regulators; the OISC we hold your paper file in a locked cabinet stored with a key and this is accordingly destroyed after 6 years.

If we hold any original documents for you provided by you when you first instruct us and during the course of your legal matter; we endeavour to return this back to you as standard case management practice.

Your Rights About Special Category Data to Criminal Offences and Convictions

Under the new enhanced GDPR rules regarding data protection; you have the right to withdraw consent for us to hold special categories of personal data or data relating to criminal offences and convictions.  You can withdraw your consent with us by emailing us at info@uk-sovereign.co.uk as this will form written confirmation to us by you.

Withdrawing your consent will mean that we are no longer able to process this data, however, there is no effect on the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

Privacy Data Related to Children

If we are required to process data related to a child, compliant with the legal bases for processing data as specified above, we will seek and require the consent of the child’s parent or guardian to do so. 

Disclosure of Personal Information to Service Providers

Cloud Computing Provider (Hosting, CRM, Backup): IONOS https://www.ionos.co.uk/terms-gtc/privacy-policy/

Case Management System – ‘My Learned Friend’ Patent/Bespoke CMS of UK Sovereign Visa & Immigration Services

Email Provider: IONOS – 1 to 1 – https://www.ionos.co.uk/terms-gtc/privacy-policy/

Client (You) Rights to Your Information Held with us

You have the following rights regarding the information which we hold on file for you (subject to certain limitations). You can request to us by email (info@uk-sovereign.co.uk) to obtain the following information;

• You can request access to your information and information related to our use and processing of your information
• You can request the correction or deletion of your information
• Make a request that we restrict our use of your information
• Request information which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file)and the right to have that information transferred to another data controller (including a third party data controller)
• You can email us to outline your objections to the processing of your information for certain purposes (for further information, see the section further down headed Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes) and
• You can withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time where we rely on your consent to use or process that information. Although you should note that if you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of our use and processing of your information on the basis of your consent before the point in time when you withdraw your consent

Further Information on Your Rights With Regards to Your Personal Data as an Individual

The above points under (Rights to Your Information Held with us) are in summarised form only and certain limitations apply to many of these rights. For further information about your rights in relation to your information, including any limitations which apply, please visit the following pages on the ICO’s website:

And

Verification of Your Identity When You Request Access to Your Information

If you request access to your information held with us, we are required by law to use all reasonable measures to verify your identity before disclosure of any information.

The above steps are to ensure that your information is protected against potential fraud and to prevent and reduce the risk of identity theft, fraud or unauthorised access being requested to your information.

Verification of Your Identity

When you make contact with us, particularly by phone, we will require you to answer questions related to your information, this will include but not limited to your case reference number (this is automatically generated when you make initial contact with us), your full residential address, type of legal matter you have with us etc.

In most cases your file reference will be required; where there are any doubts to the person requesting file information further questions may be applicable.

Under no circumstances will we disclose information or discuss your matter on file with us; with anyone claiming to be a relative or friend of yours, unless you have categorically notified us by written consent (this can include an email confirmation).

Further information on the above

You may contact us as info@uk-sovereign.co.uk and speak with the director; Shazia Ershad to discuss any complaints or request further information in relation to our policy as outlined here.