Law abroad
Every step from first year to working abroad. See all nine countries for Law.
Lawyer to London About 9years to moving LLB, 4 years; Articles + board exams, 2 years; A few years at a large SA firm, 3 years. Then SQE1 (and SQE2 unless exempted); Solicitor of England and Wales. Smaller route25 a yearUK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals in legal professional occupations (SOC minor group 241) (2025)30 in 2023
Where it leads: Associate solicitor in a City firm. Typical employers: international firms with both Johannesburg and London offices, such as Norton Rose Fulbright, Baker McKenzie and Hogan Lovells.
Worth knowing: Law is the least portable profession on the map. This route works mainly for commercial lawyers.
- Study · 4 yrs LLB4 years
- Train · 2 yrs Articles + board exams2 years
- Register Admitted attorneyLegal Practice Council
- Train · 3 yrs A few years at a large SA firmCommercial experience is what London firms hire
- Register SQE1 (and SQE2 unless exempted)Qualified-lawyer route: no UK training contract needed
- Work Solicitor of England and Wales
Years are typical minimums from the first year at university. Steps after a bar take no set time. Open a route for where it leads and every step.
How many have done this: 2 official counts, with sources
- 16 a year · Australian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated in legal professional occupations (ANZSCO 271) (Australia, 2025)
Trend: 21 in 2023-24
Programme year 2024-25.
Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0068 Permanent Migration Program (Skilled & Family) Outcomes Snapshot, to 30 June 2025 - 25 a year · UK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals in legal professional occupations (SOC minor group 241) (United Kingdom, 2025)
14 solicitors and lawyers plus 11 other legal professionals
Trend: 30 in 2023
Entry clearance (applied from outside the UK) only; excludes South Africans already in the UK who switched into the route in-country, which is now the larger flow.
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics data tables, table Occ_D02 (Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry, SOC 2020), year ending June 2026
How to read the board
Timelines are typical minimums from the first year at university; visas, exams and job searches often take longer.
“Well-trodden” means at least 1 000 people counted on an official register (or 200 a year); “Established” means at least 200 (or 50 a year). Counts come from regulators and statistics offices and are never estimated.
Register counts are people working there today, by where they trained. Visa counts are people per year, by occupation, because no country publishes visas by degree. UK visa figures count visas issued abroad only and understate every route: in 2025 South Africans received 793 Skilled Worker visas from abroad but 2 256 more by switching from inside the UK.
Illustrative, well-trodden routes assembled from the MatricMap research. Employers named are examples of the kind of organisation that hires on each route, not endorsements or job offers.