Website Privacy Notice

Dickson Law Office Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15171914. We are the controller of the personal information described in this notice. Our registered office is Unit 8A, West Cross Shopping Centre, Oldbury Road, Smethwick, West Midlands, B66 1JG.

We are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority at Level 1 in the categories of Immigration and Asylum and Protection. Our organisation number is F202636259. Dickson Tarnongo is an authorised adviser, number P062830.

Questions about this notice or our use of personal information may be sent to info@dicksonlawoffice.co.uk or by post to our registered office.

This notice applies to website visitors, prospective clients, clients, people connected with a client's matter, suppliers and other people who communicate with us. It should be read with our Cookie Policy, Website Terms of Use, Terms of Business and any Client Care Letter issued for a particular matter.

A Client Care Letter may contain additional privacy information that is specific to a matter. If another organisation controls personal information for its own purposes, its privacy notice will also apply.

• Identity information, including names, dates of birth, photographs, signatures and identity document details.
• Contact information, including postal and email addresses, telephone numbers and preferred contact methods.
• Immigration and nationality information, including immigration status, Home Office references, travel history and information contained in passports, visas and immigration documents.
• Family, relationship, accommodation, education and employment information relevant to an enquiry or matter.
• Financial information, including income, benefits, bank information, invoices, payments and evidence of financial circumstances where relevant.
• Communications and case records, including emails, letters, call notes, appointment records, documents and advice provided.
• Technical information, including internet protocol address, browser type, device information, website usage and cookie choices.
• Information needed to handle complaints, regulatory enquiries, insurance matters or legal claims.

Immigration matters may involve special category information, such as health, disability, racial or ethnic origin, religion, political opinions, sexual orientation or biometric information used for identification. They may also involve allegations, cautions or convictions.

We process special category information only when an Article 6 lawful basis and an additional condition under Article 9 of the UK GDPR apply. Depending on the matter, the additional condition may be explicit consent or processing necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims. We process criminal offence information only where permitted by Article 10 of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We document the condition used for the relevant processing.

• Directly from you through our website, email, telephone, WhatsApp, video calls, meetings, forms and documents.
• From a person acting for you or connected with your matter, such as a family member, sponsor, employer, interpreter or previous adviser.
• From public authorities and bodies, including the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Immigration Advice Authority, where relevant and lawful.
• From public registers, professional advisers, service providers and publicly available sources where necessary for our work.
• Automatically when you use our website, through essential technologies and any optional technologies you have accepted.

If you give us information about another person, you should ensure that you are permitted to do so and, where appropriate, provide that person with this notice.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider the purpose, necessity and effect on the individual before processing. You may ask for information about that assessment. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

Some information is needed to answer an enquiry, assess a matter, meet regulatory requirements or perform a contract. If required information is not provided, we may be unable to offer a consultation, accept instructions or continue acting. We will explain when providing information is mandatory and the likely consequences of not providing it.

We share personal information only where necessary and lawful. Recipients may include:

• the Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration and other public authorities relevant to a matter;
• the Immigration Advice Authority, our professional indemnity insurer and professional advisers;
• appropriately authorised advisers, solicitors or other specialists where a referral or specialist input is agreed;
• interpreters, translators, experts, couriers and other providers engaged for a matter;
• providers of case management, document storage, email, video meeting, accounting, payment, website hosting, security and technical support services;
• law enforcement bodies, courts, tribunals or regulators where disclosure is required or permitted by law; and
• a purchaser or successor if our business is reorganised or transferred, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data protection safeguards.

Service providers acting as processors may use information only on our documented instructions and must protect it. Some recipients, such as the Home Office or IAA, act as separate controllers for their own statutory functions.

Immigration work may require information to be sent to or received from people and organisations outside the United Kingdom. Some technology providers may also process information outside the United Kingdom. Before making a restricted transfer, we use a lawful transfer mechanism, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or an approved UK Addendum, together with any required risk assessment and supplementary safeguards.

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

• General enquiries that do not become client matters are normally retained for up to 12 months after the last meaningful contact.
• Client files and relevant case records are normally retained for at least six years after a matter closes, unless a longer period is reasonably required.
• Financial and tax records are normally retained for six years or for any longer period required by law.
• Complaint and regulatory records are retained for a period appropriate to the complaint, regulatory requirements and possible legal claims.
• Marketing information is retained until consent is withdrawn, an objection is made or the information is no longer needed. Marketing lists are reviewed regularly.
• Cookie and similar technology retention periods are set out in our Cookie Policy and consent tool.

When information is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it.

We use organisational and technical measures intended to protect personal information from accidental loss, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure. Access is restricted to people who need the information for their work and who are subject to confidentiality duties. No internet transmission is completely secure, so sensitive documents should be sent only through a method we have approved.

Our website may use strictly necessary technologies to operate and optional technologies for analytics, embedded content or marketing. We will not use non-exempt technologies before obtaining any consent required by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. You can accept, reject or change optional choices through the website's cookie settings. Our Cookie Policy identifies the technologies used, their providers, purposes and duration.

We may send marketing only where permitted by data protection and electronic communications law. You may opt out at any time by using the unsubscribe method in a message or contacting us. Opting out of marketing does not stop service messages about an enquiry or active matter.

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• ask for access to your personal information;
• ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• ask us to erase information where there is no lawful reason to keep it;
• ask us to restrict processing;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests or to direct marketing;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where consent is the basis used; and
• ask for safeguards where a decision with a legal or similarly significant effect is made solely by automated means.

These rights are not absolute. We may need to keep or withhold information where an exemption or another person's rights apply. We may ask for information to verify identity before responding. We normally respond without charge and within the time required by law.

We do not use personal information to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. If this changes, we will provide the information and safeguards required by law before the processing begins.

Our website is not directed at children. We may process information about a child where this is necessary for an immigration enquiry or matter. A parent, guardian or other person providing a child's information must have an appropriate basis for doing so. We apply additional care to children's information and collect only what is necessary.

Please contact us first at info@dicksonlawoffice.co.uk if you have a question, wish to exercise a right or are concerned about our use of personal information.

You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office. Information about making a data protection complaint is available at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint. You may contact the ICO at any time, although it will normally expect you to raise the issue with us first.

We may update this notice when our services, technology or legal obligations change. The current version will be published on our website with its effective date. Material changes will be brought to the attention of affected people where appropriate.