Akeel Ahmed Miyan

About Akeel

Akeel Miyan is the Head and Senior Supervising Immigration Consultant at the South Wimbledon office, where he leads the immigration and asylum team. His route into law was an unusual one. He initially qualified as an electronic engineer and went on to work for RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, where he gained significant professional and technical experience before changing direction.

In 2000 he moved into immigration support, joining the International Refugee Council as a caseworker, where he assisted individuals seeking asylum and protection. In 2001 he joined a law firm as an accredited senior caseworker, and that marked the beginning of an extensive career in immigration and asylum law. He has since developed substantial experience of representing clients in asylum and immigration matters before the courts and tribunals.

Over the course of his career Akeel has represented and assisted clients from across the United Kingdom, with his work extending from Glasgow to London and Cardiff. That geographic reach reflects both the breadth of his practice and the considerable demand for his experience in immigration and asylum matters. He works with legal aid and private clients, and speaks English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.

Qualifications and accreditations

• Head and Senior Supervising Immigration Consultant, South Wimbledon.
• Accredited senior immigration caseworker since 2001.
• Originally qualified as an Electronic Engineer.
• Gold Award, together with further awards and certificates of achievement recognising his contribution to the community and his work assisting individuals in need.

Areas of law

Types of matters Akeel handles

Akeel handles a broad range of immigration and asylum work. The matters he takes on most often include:

• Asylum claims and screening and substantive interview preparation.
• Humanitarian protection claims and further submissions after a refusal.
• Asylum and human rights appeals before the First-tier Tribunal.
• Onward appeals and permission applications in the Upper Tribunal.
• Article 8 private and family life applications.
• Family reunion applications for recognised refugees.
• Entry clearance, leave to remain and settlement applications.
• Matters involving country conditions evidence and expert evidence.
• Matters involving vulnerable clients, including survivors of persecution and torture.

If you are not sure which of these applies to your circumstances, Akeel will be happy to discuss your situation and explain the options open to you, so that you can make an informed decision.

How Akeel helps clients

Akeel has spent more than twenty five years working with people who are trying to establish a safe and lawful status in the United Kingdom. He knows that most clients arrive at the firm anxious, often after a refusal or a long wait, and he starts by working out exactly where the matter stands and what evidence is realistically available.

His approach is practical and evidence led. He explains what the Home Office or the tribunal will be looking for, sets out honestly how strong a case is, and prepares the file so that the decision maker has everything it needs. Where a matter proceeds to appeal, he draws on long experience of tribunal practice to present the case clearly.

As head of the immigration department at South Wimbledon, he also supervises the work of the caseworkers in the team, which means that his experience informs matters he is not personally conducting.

Akeel brings decades of tribunal and asylum experience to every matter, and applies the same care to a first application as he does to a country guidance appeal.

Akeel's career so far

Akeel's career has taken him from engineering into immigration and asylum law, and into work for clients across the United Kingdom. These are some of the milestones along the way.

1. Early career

   Qualified as an Electronic Engineer

   Akeel initially qualified as an electronic engineer and went on to work for RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, gaining significant professional and technical experience.

2. 2000

   Caseworker at the International Refugee Council

   Akeel moved into immigration support, joining the International Refugee Council as a caseworker and assisting individuals seeking asylum and protection.

3. 2001

   Accredited Senior Caseworker in private practice

   Akeel joined a law firm as an accredited senior caseworker, beginning an extensive career representing clients in asylum and immigration matters before the courts and tribunals.

4. Nationwide

   Clients from Glasgow to London and Cardiff

   Akeel has represented and assisted clients from across the United Kingdom, reflecting both the breadth of his practice and the demand for his experience in immigration and asylum matters.

5. Recognition

   Gold Award and certificates of achievement

   Akeel's longstanding contribution to the community and his work assisting individuals in need have been formally recognised through awards and certificates of achievement, including a Gold Award.

6. Today

   Head of Immigration at South Wimbledon

   Akeel leads the immigration department at the South Wimbledon office, advising and representing clients and supervising the team.

Specialist experience

Alongside his general immigration and asylum work, Akeel has particular experience in:

• Complex and significant immigration and asylum cases, including matters heard as country guidance cases.
• Representation before the Immigration Tribunals and courts over more than two decades.
• Acting for refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable individuals, with a longstanding commitment to access to justice.
• Cases requiring detailed country conditions and expert evidence.
• Supervision of immigration and asylum caseworkers at the South Wimbledon office.

Notable and reported cases

• MN and others (Ahmadis: country conditions: risk) Pakistan CG [2012] UKUT 389 (IAC), country guidance decision on the risk to Ahmadis in Pakistan.
• AK and SK (Christians: risk) Pakistan CG [2017] UKUT 00569 (IAC), country guidance decision on the risk to Christians in Pakistan.

What to expect when you contact Akeel

1. 1

   A short initial phone call

   You start with a short initial phone call, up to five minutes, so that the firm can understand your situation and confirm whether it is able to help. This call is not legal advice.

2. 2

   Clear advice and funding options

   Akeel sets out your options and the likely next steps, and explains whether your matter may be covered by legal aid or handled privately.

3. 3

   Careful preparation of your evidence

   He works through the documents and evidence your application or appeal will need, and prepares the file so that the decision maker has a complete picture.

4. 4

   Representation through to the outcome

   He represents you through the application or appeal and explains what each decision means for you and your family.

Common questions