About Us
The principal of the firm is Maria Fernandes who has specialised exclusively in immigration and nationality law for well over 20 years.
A former barrister, she began her career in immigration in 1986 as a counsellor representing clients at Appeals for the UK Immigration Advisory Service (a government funded independent organisation). She later moved to the City where she spent 8 years undertaking corporate immigration law.
She established Fernandes Vaz in 1995 with the intention of offering a wide range of immigration services.
Ms Fernandes is an accredited member of the Immigration Law Panel of the Law Society. She was formerly Chair of the Immigration Law Committee of the Law Society.
She serves on a number of Panels established by the Home Office and Foreign Office on behalf of organisations and has chaired a series of high profile meetings on Work Permits and Visitors where the then Immigration Minister Liam Byrne was invited to consult with members of the Asian community. The changes reflected the fact that their views had been taken into account.
She writes regularly in newspapers and legal journals on issues of interest in the area of immigration.
She has developed a particular following of restaurateurs with whom she has worked for several years to provide recognition of the shortage of skilled staff in this industry. She wrote a major report on the shortages and later gave evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee. The report was later quoted at length in MAC’s conclusions.
In other areas of work, she was the President of the Middlesex Law Society between 2004-2005 and remains actively involved in law reform.
She is a part time Judge with the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
Ms Fernandes is assisted by a team of skilled and dedicated staff who are always available and willing to help.