Our Staff

Melissa Southall

Solicitor, Senior Associate
Immigration

Tel: 01216982247
Office: Birmingham

About Melissa Southall

Melissa is a Senior Associate and experienced Solicitor providing extensive personal immigration advice to our clients on spouse visas, applications for children, asylum, European applications to citizenship.

Melissa has several years experience in all kinds of immigration and asylum work, and has a particular interest in applications involving the rights of children. She has worked with a number of Local Authorities over the years representing children in Local Authority care who have immigration problems.

Melissa commented: Helping vulnerable clients, reuniting families and getting comments like the below from a Foster Carer in relation to three orphaned children is what makes my job worthwhile.

"Melissa, if you ever doubt the importance of what you are doing, or have a bad day, or someone is ungrateful, have a look at the picture [ of the girls on their very first day at school]. You are doing nothing less than helping change lives for the better. Your work has not only brought this family together, but you’ve unlocked a bright future for them filled with all kinds of possibilities. In my view Melissa, you are among the very best of people. Thank you. "

Recent Cases

Melissa recently won a de facto adoption appeal case for three minor children adopted from birth in Nigeria as well as an appeal whereby a spouse had been granted a visa but her minor child had been refused with the Home Office arguing the sole responsibility requirement was not met.
Melissa was also successful representing a European National teenage boy in Local Authority care who had mental health problems and had previously received refusals of Permanent Residence from the Home Office.

What our clients say

Melissa's clients have made many wonderful comments throughout her career, including:

"I just wanted to share a personal thank you (on behalf of all of us) for your amazing support and guidance throughout this process, it hasn’t been easy but your integrity, attention to detail and extraordinary kindness are hugely appreciated by all of us beyond words. We really are so grateful for your help! " Frank and family

"We are so grateful for your support regarding our visa application! We both felt you went over and above our expectations - and we can't thank you enough! Amanda and Erika

"...we would like to thank you for your help we appreciate it very much ... The service we received was first class and excellent customer service and great support ..." Mr J

"My personal fairy-tale journey to getting the spouse visa was ALL thanks to one special lady (Melissa), who is undoubtedly very knowledgeable and professional in her field of expertise. I thank the stars and heavens I found her."

"The way Melissa dealt with my case was unbelievable, despite my case being messed up by other lawyers. I really appreciate her hard work throughout my complex case."

"Melissa was incredibly helpful and efficient, giving me all the information I needed and talking me through every stage, no matter how many times it took for me to understand. We got exactly the result we needed and it happened far quicker than I thought which was amazing! Thank you so much."

"My wife and I would like to say a big 'thank you' for all your hard work and help handling my case – you have been the best solicitor that I have ever dealt with. Thank you so much."

I can’t explain Melissa ….. Her knowledge and customer service exceeds that of other solicitors and provides the best guidance regarding your case

"I cannot thank you enough for fighting for us and for your guidance and support over the last year. We wouldn’t have been successful without your help"

"Our Solicitor was Melissa Southall. She is very knowledgeable, professional, very quick to answer any questions, easy to get a hold of and always kept us updated. She guided us through our spousal visa renewal step by step and made the process of gathering needed information and documents together much easier than if we were to go at it alone. Highly recommended!"

Melissa is an outstanding immigration lawyer. She is professional, knowledgeable and dedicated!. If you are looking for a great immigration lawyer - please, look no further! Melissa is truly amazing. Not only she is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in immigration field - she is super attentive and dedicated, She is always available via email or phone, answers all the questions in details, and during meetings - she is always prepared and will spend extra time with you. She will not just collect your money and forget about your case - she will always be in touch, guiding you through the whole process until success. I am very glad I chose Melissa as my lawyer and highly recommend to use her services if you need help in your immigration process."

Melissa was great. I cannot sing her praises enough. She is friendly, smart and professional. I would recommend her to anyone."

Many thanks again you are absolutely the best at what you do! Thank you so much from my heart."

Melissa Southall was everything we could wish for. She was very knowledgeable, speedy, precise, pro-active, re-active and easily accessible. Melissa's professionalism and people skills are tremendous. Her back-up report which accompanied the Visa application was quite something. Thank you so much.

"Melissa was so helpful and made what was a difficult and stressful process significantly easier. Her patience, approachability and thoroughness were appreciated, and the time she took to explain the process to us made it easier understand. Thanks again Melissa."

"Thanks a million Melissa! You have done so much for us, more than you know."

"Thank you Melissa, you did an absolute amazing job and took all the stress out of it for us. You are truly a professional and remarkable person. Thank you so much." ML

Types of Law used

Immigration Law
Human Rights
Nationality Law

What the Directories say

Legal 500 - 2024-25: Leading Associate

'Melissa's competence and knowledge are truly impressive. Throughout the entire process, she guided us with precision and clarity, ensuring all aspects of our application were strong and well-presented. What set her apart even further was her consistent and prompt communication.'
‘Melissa was excellent. She was thorough and incredibly efficient in getting things done.’
‘Melissa Southall is an exceptional immigration lawyer. From what can be a very daunting experience and one that is unknown to many, Melissa makes this process as smooth as possible.'

Legal 500 - 2023-24 - Rising Star

‘The team is really special – they go above and beyond to give clients the best possible outcome. They’re super knowledgeable about immigration law and can explain it in a way that anyone can understand’.
‘I’ve worked closely with Melissa Southall, who has been instrumental in achieving successful outcomes in my case. Her attention to detail, strategic thinking, and dedication to her clients are truly unparalleled’.
‘Melissa is an exceptional Solicitor – excellent in every respect. She is clear thinking, knowledgeable, well organised, proactive, a good listener, understanding, a great communicator, and tenacious’.
‘Melissa Southall – this lady knows what the job she does is all about. She makes sure you’re the centre of the process. She is always open to talk to you and discuss every iota of what we need to know. She is diligent, professional, knowledgeable, patient oriented, cheerful and so on and so on’.
‘Melissa Southall was very transparent, she understood my needs, listened always made time when I had any issues or worries she was dedicated in helping me achieve my desired goal’.

Legal 500 2022-23 - Rising Star

‘Melissa Southall is an outstanding personality with a high degree of competence and professionalism. Her attitude towards clients is excellent’.

‘Melissa is very approachable, professional and supportive. Explained everything very clearly and never gets tired of calling her repeatedly for advice and support. Very much customer focused. Professional and willing to listen carefully as well as being very patient’.

‘I have instructed Melissa Southall for a number of immigration related matters and I have always found her work to be of an excellent standard. She provides thorough advice and is always responsive to any queries I have. She continually kept me up to date with the status of my cases and was friendly and approachable in delivering advice’.

‘The key strength of the team is that it has the experience to deal with the full breadth of personal immigration issues – more so than many of its competitors. Both Andre Minnaar and Melissa Southall are very personable and provide an excellent client service’.

‘Sydney Mitchell has a strong private immigration practice as it was founded by two very experienced practitioners, Andre and Melissa, who moved to the firm after successful careers elsewhere. Andre and Melissa are both excellent practitioners who work hard for their clients. Their preparation is meticulous and they are a pleasure to work for as a result – they make counsel’s job easier’

Legal 500 2021-22 - Rising Star

‘ I was impressed with the efficiency and professionalism of Melissa Southall. She demonstrated a very good knowledge of the immigration system. In particular, the legal reasoning for support of my application. It demonstrated her precise knowledge of the immigration laws and provided great supporting reasons for approval of my Spousal Visa application’.

‘Very good service, clear instructions were given from the start about the cost which had not changed at the end. Very good service when you call for advice or to arrange an appointment. Diverse range of specialists so you can get the best advice and support’.

‘Melissa Southall had an excellent approach where advice and support were made tailored to your own needs. I have found her very clear about her advice. She had a very respecting manner. She has been very prompt in replying to our questions’.

‘Melissa Southall works in a extremely methodical manner and the precision of information provided and general advice has made the difficult process of managing the immigration processes considerably easier than we might of expected. Melissa demonstrates empathy and a personal approach in understanding our family position’.

Legal 500 2020/2021 - Rising Star

'Melissa Southall and Andre Minnaar work exceptionally well together as a team. They provide an excellent service to their clients and are extremely dedicated to achieving the best outcome possible. They both have excellent knowledge of the law. They are committed to providing an excellent service to clients’.

‘The immigration team is outstanding, professional, knowledgeable and exceptional in its client care’.

‘Melissa Southall put our minds at ease, dealt with everything superbly and professionally and I would recommend her to anyone. She handled everything and you can’t imagine the burden she lifted from our shoulders’.

‘Andre Minnaar and Melissa Southall both work extremely hard for their clients. They anticipate difficulties in cases and seek to resolve them’

Legal 500 2018/2019 - Leading Individual

Legal 500 2018/2019 stated

‘Melissa Southall co-heads the Birmingham team is ‘a good communicator’, ‘professional in all her dealings’ and ‘an honest person who has empathy and understanding’.’