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In times of change, hiring international talent or transferring highly-skilled employees overseas, makes sound business sense. However, global mobility has become increasingly stricter and UK immigration law complex and highly procedural.

Not complying fully with the law can affect your business’ ability to operate in the UK and hire foreign nationals. We offer a full legal visa and immigration advice service. Our immigration lawyers advise on ‘right to work’ checks to ensure you don’t fall foul of the rules.

Our team of dedicated, specialist immigration solicitors work in partnership with our clients to secure a range of visas, dependent on each individual circumstance.

For many entrepreneurs and founders we secure Global Talent, Start-up and Innovator visas to utilise global immigration routes to strengthen their operations, via our immigration solicitors in Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle.

For businesses with a UK office, we have a 100% success rate for sponsorship licence applications and offer a full sponsorship management service, acting as registered legal representatives and Level 1 Users, as well as providing compliance audits and training for ongoing licence management and duties.

Our significant experience covers offering our immigration advice services on a variety of business immigration matters and we are recognised as leading advisors on Global Talent visas, as well as Skilled Worker visas and Intra Company Transfer (ICT) visas.

Due to the complexity of immigration law, no two issues are the same. So when you need bespoke advice, tailored to ensure you have the correct policies in place which fully comply with regulations, trust our immigration lawyers, you’re in capable hands.

Our service
  • 100% success rate on sponsor licence applications, act as registered legal representative and Level 1 User, provide compliance audits, training on sponsor licence management and duties
  • Advise on applications for points based visas including:
    • Skilled Worker visas (formerly Tier 2 General) for individuals with an offer of employment and sponsorship in the UK
    • Global Mobility visas for individuals transferring from an overseas office to the employer’s UK based office
    • Student visas for those looking to study at UK universities and Graduate visas for those wanting to work in the UK after graduation
    • Switching visa types from within the UK
  • Expertise of applying for endorsement and visas for entrepreneurs and founders in respect of the Start-Up and Innovator visas
  • Experts in advising on the Global Talent visa (previously known as the Tier 1 Exceptional Talent visa) having advised on over 100 endorsement applications for exceptional talent and exceptional promise, primarily in the digital technology sector (Tech Nation visa), arts and culture (including film and fashion) and engineering, science and medicine
  • Specialism in handling applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the Points Based System and 10 year route as well as subsequent applications for naturalising as a British citizen
  • Experience of advising on family visas for dependants, spouses and children both under the Points Based System and Appendix FM
  • Advising companies and individuals in relation to the recruitment and retention of EU nationals, the EU Settlement Scheme and right to work checks for EU nationals post-Brexit
  • Advising on all aspects of the right to work process including carrying out right to work checks, audits, challenging civil penalties and providing policies and training
  • Recruitment of overseas workers into hard to fill, UK based vacancies where there are skills shortages
  • Advising individuals on suitable visa options depending on their circumstances
  • Helping businesses benefit from immigration routes to maximise global immigration opportunities
  • Transparent and flexible pricing structures to suit your requirements including fixed fee arrangements
Free visa guidelines resource

We have recently launched a dedicated visa guidelines hub which is full of clear, useful guidance to help those wishing to live, work and recruit into the UK navigate the complex legal territory that is immigration law.

Applying for a visa is a complex process. On this dedicated website, our immigration experts have cut through the mountains of regulation. We present clear answers to the frequently asked questions of those who want to move to the UK to work or study, and of businesses wishing to recruit individuals from overseas.

Pricing

For details in relation to certain immigration applications, please click here.

Contact a member of our team today

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    Contact a specialist

    Flora Mewies

    Partner | Employment & Head of Immigration

    +44 (0) 330 137 3156

    +44 (0) 752 522 5480

    Email Flora Mewies

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    Laura Darnley

    Partner | Employment

    +44 (0) 330 137 3190

    +44 (0) 751 519 9143

    Email Laura

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    Roisin Patton

    Partner | Employment

    +44 (0) 330 137 3187

    +44 (0) 783 488 9938

    Email Roisin Patton

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    Natalie Payne

    Associate | Employment

    +44 (0) 330 137 3174

    +44 (0) 7725 757 256

    Email Natalie Payne

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    Gillian Burns

    Managing Associate | Employment

    +44 (0) 330 137 3152

    +44 (0)773 846 2372

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    Isabelle Cernis

    Solicitor | Employment

    +44 (0) 330 137 3170

    +44 (0) 791 257 8938

    Email Isabelle

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    Jessica Hurwood

    Solicitor | Employment

    +44 (0)330 137 3181

    +44 (0)784 525 6482

    Email Jessica

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    Claire Hutchinson

    Solicitor | Employment

    +44 (0)330 137 3180

    +44 (0)759 578 1841

    Email Claire

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    What people say

    • We sincerely appreciate Natalie Payne and Jessica Harwood's help with our "Spouse" family visa application. This is not the first time Natalie has offered her experience with a track record of success; with Natalie Payne's help from Ward Hadaway, we were able to complete a spouse visa application successfully in 2021 despite its complexity and a subsequent successful extension in 2023. While we were pressuring her for submission, some of her email responses on the advice were sent late at night and on the weekends. She has been quite professional and timely in examining and offering her conclusions and recommendations. We are grateful for all of her insightful immigration counsel and her diligent work on each of our visa applications.

      Ward Hadaway is also highly well-liked by my peers and the community when it comes to getting successful sponsorship licenses for their limited company or exceptional talent visa.

      Client quote
    • I am grateful for your meticulous work in creating the application and submitting all the necessary supporting documents. Because of your hard work, the application was approved in a matter of days. Thank you again for your support and assistance, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

      Client Quote
    • With Natalie Payne's help, we were able to complete a spouse visa application successfully in 2021 despite its complexity and a subsequent successful extension in 2023. She has been quite professional and timely in examining and offering her conclusions and recommendations. We are grateful for all of her insightful immigration counsel and her diligent work on each of our visa applications.

      Client Quote
    • Laura and Arshia delivered a superb Sponsor Management Training workshop to UK Biobank’s HR team. The session was informative, had an appropriate amount of content to refresh our knowledge and understanding and has helped us to identify and manage risks to ensure our organisation remains compliant with UK legislation. The whole team enjoyed Laura and Arshia’s warm and engaging delivery style, their approach helped the team to learn, ask questions and feel more confident in dealing with complex issues. Their ability to convey complex information to their audience in an easy to understand format was super and I highly recommend their workshops.

      Caroline Munday, Director of People and Organisational Development, UK Biobank
    • Laura Darnley’s spotlight was excellent, being very informative and helpful in breaking down what options employers have when it comes to employing EU nationals and breaking down the differences between workers with settled/pre-settled status and those without.

      Legal 500
    • What I like about Ward Hadaway LLP is their straightforward quality advice and approach. They are not a ‘stuffy’ firm and work with clients to build relationships and understand their business. They also have good sector knowledge without our industry.

      Legal 500
    • Flora Mewies is an exceptional immigration advisor, always at hand to give excellent advice at a moments notice, if she is unable to reply immediately then she will set expectations on timing of replies or ask one of her colleagues to assist.

      Legal 500
    • One of the strongest employment teams in the north east. Excellent strength in depth and a well deserved stellar reputation.

      Legal 500
    • Roisin Patton has provided excellent employment advice and support on a variety of HR issues. The advice is given within context of our business needs with full support given throughout. I would recommend Roisin to other HR professionals without hesitation.

      Legal 500

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