Important scope statement

These general Client Engagement and Cancellation Terms explain standard arrangements for professional services offered by 1st Step Consulting Ltd trading as Immigration Visa Expert (the Firm). They supplement but do not replace the case-specific client care letter, scope of work, fee agreement and any individually agreed No Win No Fee acceptance notice. Regulated immigration instructions are not accepted solely by payment, website use or reading this document.

1. Contracting parties and acceptance

Our contracting legal entity is 1st Step Consulting Ltd (company number 14708821). The client will be identified in a personalised client care letter. A contract for regulated immigration advice begins only when the Firm expressly accepts an identified engagement and has a record of the client’s written or electronic agreement to the effective client care terms.

We may decline or cease acting on lawful and proper grounds, including conflicts of interest, inability to obtain adequate instructions, loss of trust, compliance risk, inability to act within authorisation or non-payment, while observing professional duties and taking reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable prejudice.

2. Scope of services and authority

The client care letter will identify the adviser, immigration matter, included work, relevant application stage, key deliverables, material risks, expected information and exclusions. Work not described in the agreed scope—including separate dependants, reconsideration, appeals, administrative reviews, litigation or a new application—requires a separate agreement where within our professional authorisation.

No person acting for the Firm will undertake work outside the IAA-approved level and category or permit unauthorised staff to deliver regulated advice. Any external specialist consultation, referral or outsourced regulated work will be handled in accordance with consent and applicable IAA requirements.

3. Our professional obligations

We will provide services with reasonable care and skill, act in clients’ best interests, communicate material developments in writing, respect confidentiality subject to lawful exceptions, identify conflicts and maintain the records required by regulation. We cannot guarantee a government outcome or influence a decision-maker. Indicative processing times are not contractual deadlines unless specifically agreed and within our control.

4. Client duties and cooperation

The client must provide accurate, complete and timely information; promptly disclose earlier refusals, adverse history and material changes; review applications before submission; and supply clear instructions and required funds in time. The client must not submit false or altered documents or ask us to conceal facts. We may pause work reasonably while essential information is outstanding, but will alert the client to material deadlines or risks where practicable.

We will not use minor innocent errors to impose disproportionate penalties. Material misinformation, missed essential instructions or non-cooperation may justify lawful termination and may affect an individually agreed promotional refund, as provided in the No Win No Fee Terms.

5. Fees, disbursements and funding

Fees may be fixed, staged or agreed on another lawful disclosed basis. The client care letter and invoice specify the price, any VAT where applicable, when payment is due and the services it covers. Home Office fees, Immigration Health Surcharge, priority services, biometrics, external experts, translators and other third-party charges are separate unless expressly included.

We will give advance notice of material changes in scope or necessary additional charges and seek agreement before additional work or expenditure. A fee estimate is not a promise that official government fees or third-party charges will remain unchanged. Home Office fees should normally be paid by the client directly to the authority unless a suitable alternative is agreed.

6. Client money and banking security

The Firm receives payments in the legal bank-account name 1st Step Consulting Ltd. Where client money is held in advance, we handle and account for it in accordance with relevant IAA requirements, using a separate client account where required. Earned fees, unearned

advances and external disbursements are treated according to their true nature, not reclassified merely by payment timing.

Please independently verify any request to change bank details by calling an established number. Do not transfer money to an unexpected individual or third-party account without separately checking that the arrangement is legitimate.

7. Statutory right to cancel at a distance or off premises

Where the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply to a consumer service contract made online, by phone or away from business premises, the client generally has 14 calendar days from the date the contract is entered into to cancel without giving a reason. Statutory exceptions and the detailed rules prevail over these terms.

To cancel, email info@immigrationvisaexpert.com or send a clear statement to our registered office. The optional model cancellation form below may be used. The Firm will return payments due without undue delay and within the statutory time limit, ordinarily within 14 days after receiving the cancellation notice, by the original payment method unless lawfully agreed otherwise.

8. Requesting immediate work during the cancellation period

If a consumer specifically asks us to begin professional services before the 14-day period expires, we will obtain the express request and any necessary acknowledgement before starting. If that consumer then lawfully cancels before full performance, the consumer may be required to pay a proportionate amount for services actually supplied up to cancellation, calculated in accordance with the Regulations, provided the applicable pre-contract information and request requirements have been met.

Where the service has been fully performed within the cancellation period after the legally required express request and acknowledgement, the statutory right to cancel that service contract may be lost. We will not rely on a blanket declaration or advance agreement that unfairly removes rights.

9. Cancellation after statutory rights have expired

After any statutory cooling-off right ends, the client may still terminate the retainer by notice. We will identify work properly done, agreed and fair charges, external expenses committed with authority, and funds to be returned. No arbitrary cancellation penalty applies; contractual charges must be transparent, lawful, proportionate and consistent with the work actually undertaken and our regulatory duties.

The Firm will issue a closing statement and promptly return outstanding client money and original documents as required. The client’s file may be transferred on request without improper delay or prejudice, even if a payment dispute remains.

10. Promotional No Win No Fee matters

A No Win No Fee benefit applies only if a case-specific written acceptance notice expressly identifies the client, application or stage and covered professional fee. The separate promotional Terms govern that defined refund trigger. They do not override applicable cancellation, reasonable-care-and-skill obligations or other statutory and IAA requirements.

11. Communications and deadlines

We may communicate by email, telephone, secure portals or other agreed means. The client should give reliable contact details and promptly review requests and drafts. Neither a WhatsApp message nor an online submission automatically constitutes formal acceptance of a new paid instruction. Time-sensitive instructions should be confirmed by a reliable agreed channel.

12. Confidentiality, privacy and records

We will handle client information confidentially subject to client authority and lawful professional disclosures, including to UKVI, IAA, courts, regulators or necessary service providers. Data handling is explained in our Privacy Policy. We retain immigration client records for at least the period required by the applicable IAA Code, currently six years, subject to any longer lawful retention requirement.

13. Complaints and remedies

Complaints may be raised under the Firm’s published Complaints Handling Procedure or, where relevant, directly with the Immigration Advice Authority. Clients retain all statutory consumer, professional, data protection and court remedies. Nothing in these terms limits liability which cannot lawfully be restricted.

14. Governing law and changes

The law of England and Wales governs these terms, subject to any mandatory consumer protections and jurisdictional rights that apply. The agreed client care letter controls individual scope and pricing; a signed and lawful case-specific No Win No Fee notice controls the promotional refund benefit. Public updates do not retrospectively change concluded engagements without any consent required by law.

Schedule A — optional consumer cancellation form

To: 1st Step Consulting Ltd trading as Immigration Visa Expert, 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ; info@immigrationvisaexpert.com.

I hereby give notice that I cancel my contract for the following service: ____________________. Date contract made: ____________. Client name: ____________________. Address: ____________________. Email/telephone: ____________________. Date of cancellation notice: ____________. Signature (only if submitted on paper): ____________________.

Company details

1st Step Consulting Ltd trading as Immigration Visa Expert | Company number 14708821 | Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ | info@immigrationvisaexpert.com | Last reviewed: 9 October 2026.