PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated: May 16, 2026

QC Immigration (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data with care, transparency, and integrity. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, and what your rights are.

This policy applies to all individuals who visit our website, contact us for legal advice, or engage us as clients. It is written in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Because immigration law involves sensitive personal information — including nationality, immigration status, and biometric data — we take our data protection obligations especially seriously.

1. Who We Are

QC Immigration is the data controller responsible for your personal data..

QC IMMIGRATION LTD.
Website: https://www.qc-immigration.com
demographic information such as postcode, preferences and interests
Email: info@ qc-immigration.com
Phone: +44 20 3637 8633
Address: 117 Waterloo Road, Mercury House, London, England, SE1 8UL, United Kingdom

If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us using the details above.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Our registration number is: Z2599899.

2. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect the following types of personal data:

a) Information You Provide Directly

Full name and date of birth
Nationality, country of birth, and immigration status
Passport and travel document details
Employment history and qualifications
Family relationships and information about dependants
Financial information relevant to immigration applications
Information about criminal history (where relevant to your application)
Any other information you provide in the course of receiving legal advice or services

b) Special Category Data

Immigration law frequently involves special category data under UK GDPR. We may process:

Biometric data (e.g. photographs, fingerprints included in travel documents)
Data revealing racial or ethnic origin, nationality, or religion
Health data (where relevant to visa applications or appeals)
Data relating to criminal convictions or offences

We only process special category data where we have a lawful basis to do so (see pection 4).

c) Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we may collect:

IP address and approximate location
Browser type and version
Pages visited and time spent on our site
Referral source (how you found us)
Device and operating system information

This data is collected via cookies and similar technologies. Please see Section 9 (Cookies) for more information.

d) Information from Third Parties

We may also receive personal data from:

Referral partners or introducers
The Home Office or other government bodies (in the course of your matter)
Courts or tribunals
Other legal representatives acting on your behalf

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16 without parental consent, except where this is necessary as part of a family immigration matter.

e) What Happens If You Do Not Provide Personal Data?

Much of the personal data we request is necessary for us to provide immigration legal services. If you do not provide certain information, it may not be possible for us to take on your matter, submit an application on your behalf, or continue acting for you. We will always make clear at the point of collection whether providing particular information is mandatory or optional.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so. Our purposes include:

Providing immigration legal advice and representation
Preparing and submitting visa, leave to remain, and citizenship applications
Communicating with the Home Office, courts, and other relevant bodies on your behalf
Managing your file and keeping records of our advice
Sending you updates about your matter
Processing invoices and payments
Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations (including Solicitors Regulation Authority rules and anti-money laundering requirements)
Preventing fraud and ensuring the security of our systems
Improving our website and services
Marketing our services (only with your consent — see Section 4)

We will never sell your personal data to third parties.

4. Lawful Bases for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contract: Processing is necessary to provide the legal services you have engaged us for.
Legal obligation: We are required to process certain data to comply with the law (e.g. anti-money laundering checks, IAA regulatory requirements, and mandatory reporting obligations).
Legitimate interests: We may process your data for our legitimate business interests, such as improving our services, maintaining our records, and detecting fraud, where this does not override your rights.
Consent: Where you have given explicit consent, for example to receive marketing communications or for certain cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us or using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email.

For special category data (e.g. biometric data, health data, data about criminal convictions), we rely on additional conditions including:

Substantial public interest (Schedule 1 of the Data Protection Act 2018) - specifically, legal proceedings and legal advice
Explicit consent, where required
Vital interests of the data subject

5. How We Share Your Data

We share your data only where necessary and with appropriate safeguards in place. Recipients may include:

Government and Regulatory Bodies

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) / Home Office
HM Courts and Tribunals Service
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), where relevant
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
Immigration Advice Authority (IAA)

Professional Advisers

Barristers and Counsel instructed on your matter
Translators and interpreters
Expert witnesses
Process servers

Technology and Business Service Providers
We use third-party service providers to support the day-to-day running of our business. These providers act on our instructions and are bound by data processing agreements. They are only permitted to process your data for the specific purposes we have authorised. The categories of provider we use include:

Case management and client relationship management (CRM) software
Document storage and management
Email and communications platforms
Website hosting and analytics tools
Accounting and payment processing services
Identity verification services
Live chat and customer support tools
Advertising and marketing platforms (where you have given consent via our cookie banner)
AI-powered chat assistant (provided by a third-party cloud platform) — used to respond to initial enquiries on our website

We periodically review our list of service providers to ensure they meet our data protection standards. If you would like details of specific providers, please contact us.

If we are required by law or court order to disclose your data, we will do so. Where possible, we will inform you before complying.

6. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers may store or process data outside the United Kingdom. Where this occurs, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

Transfers to countries with an adequacy decision from the UK Secretary of State
Use of the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses

Please contact us if you would like further information about the specific safeguards we use for any international transfer of your data.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations.

As a UK immigration firm regulated by the OISC, we are required to retain personal data for minimum periods determined by our regulatory obligations, applicable law, and legitimate business need. The specific retention period for any given data depends on the type of matter and the nature of the information involved.

For certain categories, retention periods are fixed by law:

Anti-money laundering records: retained for the period required under the Money Laundering Regulations
Financial and accounting records: retained for the period required by HMRC
Marketing contact records: retained until you withdraw consent or opt out
Website analytics data: retained for a limited period in line with our analytics provider's standard settings

For all other client data - including files, correspondence, and immigration documents such as copies of passports and visas - we retain information for as long as required by our IAA regulatory obligations and any applicable legal limitation periods

If you would like details of the specific retention period applicable to your data, please contact us.

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

8. Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you (a Subject Access Request or “SAR”). We will respond within one month.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’): You can ask us to delete your data where there is no longer a lawful reason to retain it. Note that this right may be limited by our legal and regulatory obligations.
Right to restriction: You can ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances (e.g. while accuracy is disputed).
Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
Rights related to automated decision-making: We do not use automated decision-making or profiling in relation to your data.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@qc-immigration.com We may need to verify your identity before responding. There is no fee for standard requests.

If you are not satisfied with how we handle your data or respond to your request, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website. For full details of the cookies we use, their purpose, and how to manage your preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.

10. Security of Your Data

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, destruction, or alteration. These include:

Encrypted storage and transmission of data
Secure password policies and multi-factor authentication for our systems
Restricted access to client files on a need-to-know basis
Regular staff training on data protection and confidentiality
Data processing agreements with all third-party providers
Regular security scanning and malware monitoring of our website

No system can be guaranteed completely secure. In the unlikely event of a personal data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and, where required, inform you directly.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies separately.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The “Last updated” date at the top of this policy will always indicate when it was last revised.

Where changes are material, we will notify you by email (if you are a client) or by a prominent notice on our website. Continued use of our services after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: info@ac-immigration.com
Phone: +44 20 3637 8633

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 5 business days.