Zia Bi, 39, of Birmingham, director at Burlow & Spencer Ltd illegally provided immigration advice while not qualified for more than two years, while Dan Romulus Dandes, 53, and Babbar Jamil, 32, also face similar charges.

Burlow & Spencer Ltd, presented itself online as an international law firm that provided quality advice tailored to each client. It allegedly took fees from 19 clients despite having staff that were not properly trained.

In total 95 complaints were made against Burlow & Spencer between February 2016 and March 2018, 19 of which form part of the prosecution case.

Jurors heard the case of Jeffrey Crowther, a client whose wife of five years went back to Thailand to care for sick relatives in 2016. During her stay abroad her visa expired and she was unable to return to United Kingdom.

Another client, Yvonne Leach, lost her son and wanted to bring his twin sister over from Ethiopia for the funeral but had her application declined, the court heard.

Zia Bi, should have made sure that Burlow & Spencer were properly qualified, but she did not, court heard. She denies one charge of providing immigration advice when not qualified to do so as director of Burlow & Spencer.

The trial continues and the defendants deny the charges.