This publication recently spoke to UK law firm Lewis Silkin about its work in the HNW immigration field, a busy area with the recent changes to the country's investor visa regime.

Lewis Silkin is a UK-based law firm that recently voiced its views about high net worth immigration in to the UK and asked how competitive the country is as a jurisdiction of choice. The work in this area is an important one for this law firm and this publication recently questioned it about its work and trends in the immigration field. Answers were provided by Elin Harrysson; Olga Nechita and Andrew Osborne.

Background:
Lewis Silkin is a commercial law firm based in the City of London, Oxford and Cardiff and covers the following areas: employment, immigration and global mobility; media, brands and technology; corporate and commercial; property, housing and construction and litigation. The firm was formed in 1951 and now has 61 partners and a total staff of around 320.

In terms of immigration, what are the main services you provide and why?
Over the years, we have developed our practice as a response to the needs and demands of our clients. We currently provide assistance throughout the areas of immigration with a focus on corporate immigration into the UK, immigration for high Net worth individuals and global mobility.

Do you deal with only certain types of would-be immigrant? Are there areas you don't deal in?
We deal with all corporate clients and private individuals but we do not provide advice on asylum in the UK, as this type of applications are usually publically funded and we are not registered for this.

What would you say is the largest change in the type of business that you do that has occurred recently?
The increased penalties for employing illegal workers and the frequent publicity regarding compliance for businesses has made for a steady  increase of advice asked by corporate clients over the past five years. In the past year the practice has encountered a spike in global coordination work on behalf of corporate clients as well as advising HNW individuals on relocating to the UK and establishing businesses here.  

Is there such a person as a typical client?
No. Our clients have various problems they need advice on and this depends on a number of circumstances such as where the client is from, what application they wish to make and whether they can qualify to come to the UK.

Please set out some trends in terms of the type of work you are doing and the sort of issues you are dealing with.
In recent years, our immigration practice provides more and more strategic advice particularly in relation to sponsor licence and illegal working compliance duties in the UK and moving employees globally. Additionally, the increased interest in the investor route has also led to providing advice to an increased number of wealthy individuals looking to establish themselves in the UK.  

How will reforms/changes to the UK investor visa programme work out, in your view? Do you think the system needs further reform, and if so, why?
The UK remains a popular business, educational and social hub and the increased investment threshold of £2 million ($3.2 million) for the investor visa should not deter wealthy individuals from coming to the UK. Any further changes to the categories of investment should be implemented to benefit the UK economy and continue to be attractive to foreign investors. There are a number of competing investor programmes available worldwide, so the investor route in the UK does need to continue to be reformed to keep the UK as an attractive destination for high net worth individuals.

What lessons can be learned from other countries' systems of encouraging HNW immigrants (such as Canada, etc)?
The investor route in the UK must be reformed to avoid the fate of other countries such as Canada where the investor route had to be terminated. The changes to the categories of investment should be introduced to allow both parties to benefit from the investment. Currently, there is no incentive for our clients to invest other than in the UK government bonds. Such investment brings little to the UK economy in terms of funding for business and little return for investors.  Investor clients are prepared to take higher risks and invest their funds in UK business.

How does what you do relate, in your view, to the rest of the UK wealth management industry?
We assist HNW individuals with their relocation to the UK. We ensure that our clients invest their funds in correct instruments in order to meet their conditions of stay in the UK as investors. We strategically plan HNW individuals’ stay in the UK up to the point of applying for British citizenship. We liaise with specialist intermediaries from the wealth management industry to ensure that our mutual clients conform to the investment and residence rules to be able to retain their immigration status in the UK. Often the requirements for the immigration purposes are strict and any deviation from this may result in investor’s visa being cancelled or an investor not being able to obtain permanent residence or British citizenship.

There are now quite a few law firms operating in this space. What would you say is your unique value proposition?
Our specialist immigration lawyers draw on their extensive experience to provide bespoke services to our clients. We take pride in developing personal relationships with our clients and not forcing our clients into a process driven environment. We have qualified UK lawyers which advise clients in their native language, and this in our experience, helps to establish long term trust relationships. We belong to a global alliance which gives us access to ‘best of breed’ law firms, with coverage in more than 100 countries worldwide.