You qualified as a lawyer years ago β maybe in Lagos, Mumbai, SΓ£o Paulo or Shanghai. You have argued cases, drafted contracts, advised clients. Now a London firm wants you, or you simply want the freedom that comes with the title "solicitor of England and Wales". And then you discover that none of your home-country experience exempts you from the exams. Everyone sits the same SQE. That can feel like an insult after a decade of practice. It is not. Let me show you why the route is fairer than it first looks, and exactly what to do.
Why the SQE replaced the old transfer test for international lawyers
Before 2021, qualified foreign lawyers used a separate transfer scheme that granted generous exemptions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority scrapped that and folded everyone β domestic graduates and international practitioners alike β into one centralised assessment. The logic is simple: a single standard means a single, trusted qualification. A client in Manchester should not have to ask which route their solicitor took.
For you, this means two things. The bad news is no automatic shortcuts based on your foreign degree. The good news is that you may apply to the SRA for an exemption from SQE2 if you are already qualified in another jurisdiction and can prove you have been assessed on equivalent skills. SQE1 is rarely waived. So most international lawyers I work with sit the full SQE1 and then check whether an SQE2 exemption is realistic for their particular qualification.
Apply for any exemption before you book exams. The SRA decides case by case, and you do not want to pay for SQE2 you did not need β or assume an exemption that never arrives.
What SQE1 actually tests: FLK1 and FLK2 for the overseas-trained mind
SQE1 is two papers, each 180 single best answer multiple-choice questions, sat over 5 hours 20 minutes per paper. The content splits into FLK1 (English Legal System, Contract Law, Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Tort Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law, and Legal Services) and FLK2 (Property Law and Practice, Solicitor Accounts, Land Law, Trusts Law, Wills and the Administration of Estates, and Criminal Law and Practice).
Here is where international lawyers stumble β and it is rarely intelligence, it is assumptions. If you trained in a civil law country, English trusts law and the doctrine of equity have no equivalent in your system. The very idea that legal and beneficial ownership can split, that a person can hold property "on trust" for another, takes real rewiring. Common law colleagues from India, Nigeria or Malaysia have an easier ride on contract and tort, but even they must unlearn local statutory variations.
A few concrete examples of what catches people out:
- Negligence in England follows Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] and the modern Caparo approach to duty of care β your home test may differ.
- Partnership default rules sit in the Partnership Act 1890, and Business Law and Practice expects you to know them cold.
- Solicitor Accounts is unique to this jurisdiction. No foreign qualification prepares you for the SRA Accounts Rules. Treat it as brand-new territory and you will be fine; assume it resembles bookkeeping at home and you will lose easy marks.
- Land Law's registered and unregistered systems, plus the Land Registration Act 2002, are England-specific machinery you simply have to memorise.
The questions are applied, not academic. You are given a client scenario and asked for the single best answer a competent newly qualified solicitor would give. Knowing the rule is not enough β you must apply it under time pressure. That is a different muscle from the essay exams many of us grew up with.
SQE2 skills: where your experience finally pays off
If you do sit it, SQE2 is where years of practice become an advantage rather than dead weight. It assesses five skills β Client Interviewing, Advocacy, Case and Matter Analysis, Legal Research, and Legal Writing and Drafting β across the same areas of law. A practising lawyer already knows how to listen to a client, structure advice, and draft a clear letter. The challenge is doing it the English way, on the Pearson VUE closed platform.
That platform matters more than candidates expect. There is no internet, no browser, no Boolean search β only Ctrl+F within the provided materials. The Legal Research task runs to 60 minutes. If your daily practice relies on quick database searches, you must retrain yourself to navigate a closed library efficiently. Build that habit early. It is a skill, not knowledge, and skills only come from repetition.
Your foreign advocacy style may be too combative β or too deferential β for an English assessment. Watch how marks are awarded: clarity, structure and client focus beat theatrical flourish every time.
The qualifying work experience question every international lawyer asks
Passing both SQE assessments is only two of the four requirements. You also need a degree (or equivalent), to satisfy the SRA's character and suitability standards, and two years of qualifying work experience (QWE). For international lawyers this is often the easiest box to tick β and frequently the most misunderstood.
QWE can be drawn from up to four employers, paid or unpaid, in England or abroad, and crucially it can include legal work you have already done in your home country, provided it gave you exposure to the kind of competences a solicitor needs. A solicitor or compliance officer must confirm it. So your past five years at a firm in Dubai or Buenos Aires may already count. Gather references and confirmations now, while contacts still remember you.
Do not leave this to the end. Many candidates ace the exams and then scramble for someone willing to sign off experience from years ago. Start a simple log: dates, employer, the competences you exercised, and who can verify it.
A realistic study sequence for working international lawyers
Most people I coach are still practising full-time in their home jurisdiction while preparing. That is demanding but entirely doable if you sequence it sensibly. Tackle the unfamiliar subjects first β trusts, land, solicitor accounts, wills β because they need the most repetition. Save contract and tort for later if your background is common law; they will feel like revision rather than new learning.
Three habits separate the candidates who pass on the first attempt:
- Question practice from day one. Reading textbooks feels productive, but SQE1 rewards application. Do MCQs even before you feel "ready" β the wrong answers teach you fastest.
- Respect the jurisdiction gap. When a rule surprises you, flag it. Those surprises are precisely where the examiner will test you.
- Simulate the clock. 180 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes is roughly 100 seconds each. Stamina is part of the exam. Practise in long blocks, not five-minute snatches between meetings.
One more thing on language. The SQE is written in technical English legal vocabulary. If English is your second language, the law is not your only hurdle β the phrasing is too. "Tenancy in common", "joint and several liability", "without prejudice": learn the terms of art precisely, because a single misread word can flip a single best answer.
Your action checklist before booking anything
Before you spend a penny on exam fees, work through this short list. Confirm your degree meets the SRA equivalence standard. Apply for any SQE2 exemption and wait for the written decision. Start gathering QWE confirmations from past and present employers. Map which FLK1 and FLK2 subjects are genuinely new to you versus a refresh. Only then build your timetable backwards from your target sitting. Planning in that order saves money, stress and at least one wasted attempt.
The SQE is not a hazing ritual designed to keep foreign lawyers out. It is a level playing field. Your experience still counts β in QWE, in SQE2 skills, and in the simple confidence of someone who has sat across a real client. You just have to translate that experience into the English system the assessors are looking for.
If you would like structured support, that is exactly what we built CELE SQE (celebar.com) for. Our SQE1 courses run from Β£1,750 for the short-term option up to Β£3,720 for the long-term programme, with single-FLK options at half price if you only need one paper, and the SQE2 course is Β£1,450 with 61 full mock questions built 1:1 to the official SRA format. International lawyers tend to value the question bank most β it is Β£575 a month β because question practice is where the jurisdiction gap closes fastest. Reach us on WeChat SQE100 or at [email protected] if you want a candid view on which route fits your background.