Jacqueline is a Partner in the firm’s Employment and Immigration team. Accredited as an Immigration Law specialist by the Law Society of Scotland, she has assisted clients with immigration and nationality law issues for over 22 years.
Over the course of her career, she has represented countless individuals and families throughout their UK immigration journey- acting as trusted advisor on her clients’ initial visa application to come to the UK, extension visa application and then application to become a permanent UK resident. In many cases she has also assisted clients with the optional step of becoming a British citizen. Areas of specialism include partner visas, child visas, ancestry visas, long residence visas and nationality applications. She also has niche expertise in dealing with visas and litigation involving elderly parents living overseas with personal care needs. Making a UK visa application can be a difficult and stressful process for many people due to the importance of what is at stake and the difficulties of dealing the UK Home Office. Jacqueline strives to smooth the visa process for her clients in addition to providing reassurance and peace of mind that the prospects of a successful outcome are being maximised. She is known for her clear advice, technical knowledge of immigration law and sympathetic approach to her clients.
For businesses, her primary focus is in supporting employers obtain and maintain a UK sponsor licence in order that they can recruit and retain international staff. She frequently partners with HR teams and business-owners to ensure sponsor licence holders are upskilled to confidently carry out their sponsor duties. Additionally, she regularly advises clients on a wide range of business immigration issues including complex right to work queries and consideration of non-sponsorship routes. Her sectoral experience includes the Higher Education sector, the Hospitality and IT sector. She can also support clients with mock audits, preparation for actual Home Office audits and preparing responses to enforcement action including challenging a Civil Penalty and responding to proposed revocation action from the Sponsor Compliance team.
A sought-after immigration trainer, she has presented to a wide range of organisations including the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI), Family Law Association and STEP, and has facilitated a number of events for business stake-holders with the Home Office Engagement team and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
