Paragon Law

Paragon Law

The firm

Paragon Law is a specialist UK immigration law firm advising businesses, universities, public bodies, charities, individuals and families on the full range of UK immigration, nationality, asylum and human rights law.

Described as an “immigration law powerhouse”, the firm is known for combining sophisticated corporate immigration expertise with a long-established commitment to asylum, human rights and access to justice. Its lawyers regularly handle complex, sensitive and high-stakes matters involving business-critical immigration issues, family life, protection claims and challenges to Home Office decision-making.

Founded in 2003, Paragon Law operates with the ethos of “building bridges and not walls”. The firm is people-focused, diverse and committed to providing clear and practical immigration advice.

The firm acts for a varied UK and international client base. Its clients include large public companies, multinational and owner-managed businesses, start-ups, local authorities, charities, universities, education providers, families and individuals. The firm also acts for overseas companies establishing UK operations and international clients relocating themselves, their families or key personnel to the UK.

Paragon Law’s practice is organised around three specialist areas:

• corporate and business immigration;

• personal and family immigration; and

• asylum and human rights.

The firm’s lawyers advise on matters ranging from sponsor licence strategy and UKVI enforcement to family migration, British citizenship, asylum claims, appeals and judicial review. The firm’s approach is thorough, evidence-led and solutions-focused. Its lawyers aim to make complex immigration law understandable, provide advice in plain language and develop strategies that reflect each client’s commercial, personal or humanitarian circumstances.

Types of work undertaken

Corporate immigration and business services

Paragon Law advises UK and international organisations on all aspects of business immigration, workforce mobility and sponsor licence compliance. The team works with employers throughout the sponsorship lifecycle, from obtaining a sponsor licence and sponsoring overseas workers to ongoing Sponsor Management System administration, compliance audits and responses to UKVI enforcement action.

The corporate immigration practice includes:

• sponsor licence applications and renewals;

• sponsor licence management and Sponsor Management System support;

• Skilled Worker sponsorship and visa applications;

• Global Business Mobility applications, including Senior or Specialist Worker and UK Expansion Worker matters;

• compliance audits, mock UKVI audits and review of HR systems;

• preparation for announced and unannounced UKVI compliance visits;

• reporting and record-keeping duties;

• allocation and assignment of Certificates of Sponsorship;

• salary, occupation-code and sponsored-role compliance;

• applications for dependants of sponsored workers;

• business visitors and short-term international assignments;

• Global Talent, Innovator Founder and other specialist work routes; and

• strategic advice to boards, HR teams, legal teams and Authorising Officers.

The firm provides both retained and project-based support to employers. It helps organisations develop sponsorship policies, reporting controls, document-retention systems, salary-monitoring processes and internal governance arrangements designed to prevent compliance failures before they become enforcement matters. The corporate team also delivers practical training to HR professionals, senior management, universities and operational teams on sponsorship, Skilled Worker recruitment, right to work and UKVI compliance.

Sponsor licence enforcement and judicial review

Paragon Law has particular expertise in high-stakes sponsor licence enforcement. The firm advises organisations facing:

• Home Office requests for information;

• UKVI compliance investigations;

• sponsor licence suspension, downgrading or revocation;

• allegations of salary underpayment;

• failures relating to roles, occupation codes or Certificates of Sponsorship;

• reporting and record-keeping breaches;

• allegations that vacancies are not genuine;

• civil penalties for illegal working; and

• curtailment action affecting sponsored workers.

Where appropriate, the team prepares detailed representations, Pre-Action Protocol correspondence and judicial review proceedings challenging unlawful or procedurally unfair Home Office decisions. This work often requires urgent strategic advice because the loss of a sponsor licence can affect business continuity, recruitment, regulatory relationships and the immigration position of sponsored workers and their families. The firm’s recent work includes Administrative Court proceedings relating to sponsor compliance, corporate change and licence revocation.

The firm’s contentious and non-contentious corporate capabilities are closely connected. Its experience of enforcement cases informs its advisory, audit and training work, allowing the team to identify the practical failures most likely to attract UKVI scrutiny and design proportionate controls around them.

Right to work and prevention of illegal working

Paragon Law advises employers on the UK right to work regime and the prevention of illegal working. The team assists with:

• manual right to work checks;

• Home Office online checks;

• digital identity verification;

• Employer Checking Service applications;

• Positive Verification Notices;

• time-limited permission and follow-up checks;

• statutory excuses against civil penalties;

• allegations of illegal working;

• civil penalty objections and appeals;

• identity, impersonation and substitution risks;

• agency workers, contractors and self-employed individuals;

• outsourced services and complex labour-supply chains;

• right to work due diligence in acquisitions and TUPE transfers; and

• supplier contracts, audit rights and compliance assurances.

The firm works across HR, procurement, legal, operations, security and contract-management functions where right to work responsibilities extend beyond conventional direct employment. Its recent client training has addressed external labour arrangements, contractual controls, identity assurance, supplier audits and governance ownership.

Corporate transactions, restructuring and sponsored workers

The corporate immigration team advises on the immigration implications of mergers, acquisitions, investments, business sales, insolvency transactions, group reorganisations, changes in direct ownership and TUPE transfers.

The team helps buyers, sellers and affected employers determine whether a new sponsor licence is required, how responsibility for sponsored workers should transfer and what reports must be submitted through the Sponsor Management System. It also assists with dormant licences, linked entities and the coordination of sponsorship arrangements across corporate groups. Recent firm work includes sponsorship reporting following acquisitions, mergers and employee transfers under TUPE.

International expansion and global mobility

Paragon Law advises overseas businesses entering the UK market and UK organisations transferring personnel across borders. The firm combines immigration advice with an understanding of corporate structures, workforce planning and the evidential requirements of international expansion.

Its work includes:

• UK Expansion Worker sponsor licences and visas;

• establishing a UK branch or subsidiary;

• demonstrating the trading history and viability of an overseas business;

• preparing UK expansion plans and supporting evidence;

• transferring senior managers and specialist workers;

• business-visitor strategy;

• international assignments;

• Skilled Worker sponsorship following establishment in the UK; and

• immigration planning for entrepreneurs, investors and senior executives.

Universities, schools and international students

Paragon Law has a substantial education-sector practice. The firm advises universities, colleges, private education providers and schools on worker and student sponsorship, sponsor compliance, right to work and international student immigration.

Its work includes:

• Student sponsor licence applications and compliance;

• Skilled Worker sponsorship for academic and professional staff;

• student attendance and engagement monitoring;

• reporting and record-keeping duties;

• preparation for UKVI compliance visits;

• education-sector immigration audits;

• Graduate, Skilled Worker, Global Talent and other post-study work routes;

• advice to international students on working during and after study; and

• training and visa workshops for university staff and students.

The firm maintains corporate partnerships with education providers and regularly delivers sessions to international students on post-study visa options, Skilled Worker sponsorship and routes into employment in the UK.

Personal and family immigration

The personal and family immigration team advises individuals and families at every stage of their immigration journey, from initial entry clearance and leave to remain through to settlement and British citizenship.

The team advises on:

• spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner and fiancé applications;

• dependant visas;

• applications for parents, children and other family members;

• visitor visas;

• private-life and family-life applications;

• Indefinite Leave to Remain;

• naturalisation and registration as a British citizen;

• long residence;

• EU Settlement Scheme matters;

• fee-waiver applications;

• applications outside the Immigration Rules;

• refusals, administrative review, appeals and judicial review; and

• complex cases requiring representations under the Human Rights Act 1998.

The lawyers handle straightforward applications as well as matters involving overstaying, evidential difficulties, unusual family structures, vulnerable clients or the need to seek an exercise of Home Office discretion. The current profile emphasises the firm’s ability to pursue applications, appeals and judicial reviews and to secure outcomes through legal argument, discretion or court challenge.

Asylum and human rights

Paragon Law has a long-established asylum and human rights practice. The team represents adults, children and families seeking protection in the UK and acts in legally and factually complex matters involving persecution, removal, deportation and family separation.

Its work includes:

• asylum and humanitarian protection claims;

• fresh claims and further submissions;

• family reunion applications;

• claims involving unaccompanied or separated children;

• deportation and removal cases;

• deprivation of British citizenship;

• trafficking and modern-slavery issues where they arise within immigration cases;

• First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal appeals;

• appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court;

• proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights;

• High Court judicial review; and

• urgent applications for interim relief and emergency injunctions.

The team works where appropriate with barristers, country experts, medical professionals, charities and organisations supporting refugees and vulnerable individuals. This allows it to build detailed evidential cases and coordinate legal representation with the wider support a client may need.

EU and cross-border immigration

The firm advises European businesses and individuals on UK immigration requirements affecting projects, contracts, business travel and longer-term assignments. This includes advice on permitted business-visitor activities, sponsored work, the EU Settlement Scheme and the movement of personnel between UK and European operations.

Sector experience

Paragon Law acts across a broad range of sectors, including:

• care and healthcare;

• higher education and private education;

• technology and digital businesses;

• engineering and energy;

• food production and manufacturing;

• retail and hospitality;

• construction and property;

• professional services;

• pharmaceuticals;

• sport, entertainment and gaming;

• charities and the third sector;

• local government and public bodies; and

• start-ups, scale-ups and owner-managed businesses.

The firm is particularly experienced in advising organisations that operate across multiple sites, form part of international groups or rely on sponsored workers as part of their workforce strategy.

Approach and values

Paragon Law combines specialist legal expertise with an emphasis on empathy, accessibility and practical problem-solving. Its lawyers aim to understand the client’s objectives, identify the legal and operational risks and provide a clear strategy for resolving them.

For businesses, this means advice that reflects commercial priorities, workforce needs and internal systems. For individuals and families, it means clear guidance, careful evidence preparation and sustained support through what can be a difficult and uncertain process.

The firm remains committed to its founding principle of “building bridges and not walls”. Its diverse team reflects the international communities it serves, and its lawyers are able to advise clients with an understanding of different cultural, family and business contexts.

Languages and international capability

The firm’s language capability includes Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Swahili and a range of other regional and international languages. Where required, the team also works with professional interpreters, overseas lawyers and a well-established network of foreign associates.