Accredited by The Law Society of Scotland as a specialist UK immigration and nationality lawyer, John works for both business and private individuals.
For businesses, he guides managers, HR teams and their international workforce through the sponsor licence system. He advises on regulatory compliance issues including sponsor and right to work duties. His clients range from small businesses through to multi-national corporations, as well as charities, sporting organisations, higher education institutions, and religious organisations.
For individuals, he advises on personal and family migration plans and helps them to choose the best migration strategy for their needs. John regularly acts for high profile, eminent individuals migrating to the UK under the Global Talent visa route. With a particular interest in current and past British citizenship law and ancestry, he is highly skilled in problem-solving in complex immigration cases. John takes a keen interest in Adult Dependent Relative visa cases, and prides himself on a strong track record of success.
John is an experienced litigator, but recognises that alternatives to litigation are usually best for his clients. Where there are no alternatives, he has successfully represented clients in immigration appeals at the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, and has acted as instructing solicitor in cases at the Scottish Court of Session, the UK Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. He was lead solicitor in the landmark Supreme Court case that opened a route to British citizenship for children born outside of the UK and Commonwealth between 1949 and 1983 to foreign-born British mothers.
He is a frequent author on the Free Movement website, which features news, training and commentary on immigration and nationality case law; and a guest lecturer on the University of Glasgow’s Immigration and Asylum Law honours course. In February 2022 he co-founded the Ukraine Advice Project, a pro bono network of over 600 lawyers giving free UK immigration advice to people in Ukraine seeking sanctuary in the UK.
Business
- Advising a marine engineering contractor on immigration requirements for foreign national crew engaged in offshore work on a windfarm operating within UK territorial waters.
- Helping a multi-national company send foreign specialist workers from around Europe to sites in the UK on a series of project postings ranging from 6 months to several years, utilising Global Mobility visas and Skilled Worker visas.
- Assisting a Scottish professional football club with the sponsorship and associated visa applications for its recent international signings, and advising on the club’s sponsor licence, right to work queries, and future visa considerations.
- Advising a UK-wide hotel company in its successful defence against a civil penalty notice, following an investigation from Immigration Enforcement in relation to an employee suspected of working illegally.
- Helping a livestock research institute sponsor foreign individuals seeking work experience, internship opportunities and other supernumerary work options. The institute obtained an endorsement for UK Visas and Immigration, enabling it to be added to the published list of approved research organisations, which in turn enabled it to use the Government Authorised Exchange scheme.
- Advising a multi-billion-dollar construction and technology group on the posting of international workers to the UK for the group’s various UK projects. This resulted in the group successfully posting around 100 workers to the UK to undertake short-term installation work as standard visitors utilising rule PA7 permitted activities.
- Providing consultancy and legal advice to a Scottish university following a failed UKVI student sponsor compliance audit, including advice relating to student sponsor compliance and UKVI policy interpretation.
Individual
- Strong track record of success in:
- Global Talent visa applications for eminent artists, writers, film producers, game developers, and tech entrepreneurs.
- Adult Dependent Relative visa applications and appeals.
- Family migration to the UK.
- British citizenship claims for US citizens, arising from a UK-born grandparent.
John recently helped a large space technology company secure a sponsor licence to support recruitment of specialist engineers. He works with a large number of companies to ensure they make the most of their existing sponsor licences and help them navigate the Home Office's sponsorship system.
John routinely advises the higher education sector on compliance duties for both sponsored workers and sponsored students.
John's litigation experience includes representing clients in immigration appeals at the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal and acting as instructing solicitor in immigration, asylum, and nationality cases at the Scottish Court of Session, the UK Supreme Court, and the European Court of Human Rights. He was lead solicitor in the landmark Supreme Court case of The Advocate General for Scotland v Romein [2018] UKSC 6 which opened up a route to British citizenship for children of foreign-born British women born outside of the UK and Commonwealth between 1949 and 1983.
John has concluded several complex international adoption cases, including Hague Convention adoptions, step-parent adoptions, and petitions for recognition of foreign adoptions at common law.
He was a key author of the immigration chapter of the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia published in 2016 and is a regular contributor to the Free Movement blog, covering immigration and nationality case law, news, and commentary.
