Immigration

Our Immigration team provides expert legal advice to companies on commercial business immigration as well as to individuals in relation to family based applications, settlement and naturalisation. 

Main areas of practice

We are highly regarded within the industry for our expertise in immigration law for both businesses and individuals, providing the best possible advice and representation to individuals who are looking to live, work or study in the UK.

The immigration areas in which our lawyers are recognised as having particular expertise include:

• Sponsor licence applications, variations, suspensions and renewals
• The Points based system - including general workers, intra-company transfers, entrepreneur and investor visas, students, and family members of Points based migrants. 
• Sports persons including footballers and rugby players
• 'Discretionary' and human rights based applications
• Home Office compliance visits and enforcement
• General 'Immigration Rules' applications - including general visitors, business visitors, family visitors, long residence, Indefinite Leave to Remain, citizenship
• EU / EEA rights for European nationals and non-European family members, including permanent residence, retention of residence, deportation and removal, derivative rights. 
• Judicial Review of decisions to refuse entry to the United Kingdom, decisions to remove or deport, immigration detention and refusal to grant British nationality
• Appeals to Immigration Tribunal
• We also provide organisations with bespoke and sector-specific updates and training sessions on immigration matters and compliance, including audits and mock Home Office compliance visits.

Clients 

Our team has extensive experience in assisting local, regional and international organisations in key sectors such as retail, sport, health, education, finance and general business. 

Our corporate clients range from multi-nationals to small independent operations, and personal clients range from investors and entrepreneurs to students and family members. 

We also provide a first class service to overseas businesses looking to do trade in the UK, either by setting up or expanding their UK operation. 

Examples of companies we advise and act for include:

Significant experience 

Examples of how our specialist immigration lawyers have helped successfully companies and private individuals include:

• Assisting an individual who wanted to extend his visa but his work scenario did not fit into the "expected" guidelines from the UKBA.  We rapidly "translated" his situation into terms and concepts that the UKBA were able to accept.
• Filing a discretionary naturalisation application for the daughter of a non-UK national living in the UK. She needed a UK passport in order to be considered for selection by the UK national team gymnastics team. Although she did not meet any of the technical requirements to be entitled to a UK passport, our application was successful.
• Assisting Exeter Chiefs (a Premiership rugby club) in obtaining visas for a number of key foreign player signings under various immigration categories. The immigration categories which govern these players’ leave to remain in the UK range from sports-specific Tier 2 or Tier 5 routes, to ancestry, ancestry dependants and indefinite leave to remain.
• Assisting London Welsh RFC in a high profile matter involving a player who was found to have played a number of professional fixtures on a visitor visa. 
• Advising the Admiral Group, one of the largest insurance providers and well-known brands in the UK. It employs 7,000 people at its offices in the UK, Canada, Spain, Italy, France, US and India. We assist Admiral on the full scope of immigration, including reviewing and advising on its graduate recruitment programme for international candidates and ensuring it complies with the Immigration Rules in the event a non-EU candidate is appointed.
• Advising the Admiral Group on the immigration issues arising from a US internship programme for non-UK interns. 
• Assisting Swansea City FC on matters involving its overseas players since its promotion to the Barclays Premier League in 2011.
• Assisting Saracens Rugby Club in securing visas for a number of its high profile international players including their family members, both from within and outside the UK. 
• Advising Qumu UK Limited,  part of a global corporation with headquarters in the US, on the lawful transfer of sales people to the UK. 

Additional expertise 

The Immigration team has particular expertise with inward investment to ensure that businesses and individuals looking to set-up or invest in the UK have comprehensive advice to cover all relevant legal areas.