Immigration

We understand that immigration is often a very complex area of law and that the consequences of getting it wrong can be severe for both individuals and businesses.

Our Immigration Team is highly-ranked nationally for its expertise in both corporate and personal immigration and citizenship matters. We blend this specialism with the first-rate expertise offered by our other teams, including Employment, Private Wealth and Corporate and Commercial.

We regularly have to explore a range of solutions when it comes to helping our clients with their immigration problems. Rather than simply telling people what the law is, we make every effort to explain the options in an accessible way, and to anticipate issues which might arise in the future.

Business Immigration

The legal regime for those seeking to work in the UK and for businesses wanting to employ them remains full of complexity. Brexit has meant that the Immigration Rules apply much more broadly than was previously the case. The Points Based System is still fraught with complexity and navigating the law can be daunting for prospective workers and employers alike. We regularly advise clients on sponsor licence applications, sponsor compliance obligations and the prevention of illegal working. Many of our immigration clients already benefit from the firm’s employment and commercial expertise. We are also adept at helping foreign companies with their immigration needs when they are setting up business in the UK.

Personal Immigration

We have considerable experience in a range of personal immigration and citizenship issues. Matters we regularly advise on include citizenship and nationality applications, visas for family members, settlement applications, advising on the rights of European Economic Area nationals and their family members, and immigration to the UK under the Student, Graduate, Skilled Worker, Global Talent, and Innovator Founder categories. Our Private Wealth team is renowned for its advice to high net-worth individuals, particularly in relation to the tax consequences of immigration and citizenship.

How We Can Help

In practice, we are able to cover the full range of immigration advice. A selection of the areas we are able to assist with are as follows:

• helping our clients meet their sponsor compliance obligations and prevent illegal working, including running mock compliance visits, advising on right-to-work checks, providing in-house training and helping to challenge any enforcement action taken by the Home Office;
• obtaining certificates of sponsorship;
• acting for clients as Level 1 Users on the Sponsor Management System portal;
• helping employees and their family members to obtain visas;
• providing advice in relation to the rights of European nationals in the UK, as well as their family members;
• helping members of staff with citizenship and nationality queries and applications; and
• running bespoke immigration surgeries and/or training sessions for human resources and other staff.