The United Kingdom, and London in particular, continue to attract many of the world's financial, business and professional elite, as well as leaders in the fields of entertainment and sports.
UK immigration laws are, however, complex and can change rapidly. Applying to live and work in the UK, whether on a temporary or longer-term basis, can therefore be a challenging process.
We advise individual clients on all immigration matters that are typically of interest to high net worth, ultra high net worth and/or professional foreign nationals.
Our immigration team combines considerable experience and technical expertise with an efficient and personable approach to make the visa application process run as smoothly as possible for individual clients and their families and households.
We tailor our services to meet your needs whether you require comprehensive private client immigration support or targeted immigration advice to supplement the work of your family office and/or other professional advisors.
Legal 500 UK recognises our immigration team as "notable for their work in the area of immigration" and that "The firm is excellent value for money', and delivers 'superb client care'"(Legal 500, 2012).
The head of the Immigration Team, Edward Wanambwa, is recommended for Immigration in 'Legal Experts' 2012.
100% of the immigration applications submitted by members of our team have been approved.
We regularly advise nationals from a wide range of countries outside of Europe (including countries such as Australia, Canada, China, India, Russia, the USA and countries in the Middle East) and are sensitive to cultural differences.
One of our team's specialisms is challenging negative UK Border Agency (UKBA) decisions and we have a dedicated judicial review/public law team, which many of our peers do not. In the last year alone (2012), we have successfully challenged numerous UKBA decisions and have a very high success rate.
For our individual clients and their families we focus on the following types of immigration applications:
- Investor visas under Tier 1 (designed for those who can invest at least £1m in the UK)
- Entrepreneur visas under Tier 1 (designed for those who wish to establish, join or take over one or more businesses in the UK)
- Skilled employment related visas under Tier 2
- British citizenship
- Indefinite leave to remain/settlement
- Family and dependant related visa applications for children, spouses, civil partners, fiancés and unmarried partners
- Creative and sportsperson visas
- Sole representative visas
- UK ancestry visas
- Exceptional Talent visas
- Visitor visas
- Student visas
- Cases in the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal
- Domestic worker visas
- Overseas entry clearance
- Fast tracking
We know that obtaining a visa is only one aspect of relocating to the UK and recognise that you might also need to review your tax and wealth-management arrangements and purchase a new home here. In addition to our immigration expertise, we have specialist private client tax and estate planning, residential conveyancing and family law teams, which allows us to offer a very comprehensive and complimentary range of services, all within one firm, to our clients who are relocating to the UK.
We advise a broad range of employers - ranging from large and high profile multinational organisations to smaller UK based businesses - and educational institutions on the full spectrum of UK immigration law: Business Immigration Services
Our team
We provide focused, bespoke and cost-effective immigration advice and tailor our approach to meet the needs of each client.
We regularly assist other law firms who do not specialise in immigration law and large corporates such as banks, financial advisers and professional advisers who trust us to do an excellent job for their clients.
Members of the team regularly write about developments in UK immigration law and have contributed immigration articles to international publications such as; Corporate Counsel, Corporate International, Lawyer Monthly, Global Legal Post, the International Bar Association's Immigration and Nationality Newsletter and have provided commentary on immigration law developments for national publications such as; The Guardian and The Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and also for the BBC, Radio 4 and Channel 4 News.
We have very good contacts within other complimentary sectors (such as the banking, financial services, wealth management and accounting sectors) and would be happy to make an introduction.
If you require immigration assistance in another jurisdiction, we have excellent relationships with many leading immigration lawyers in other jurisdictions and would be happy to make a recommendation or liaise with them on your behalf.