Mahnoor Shahid

Managing Director

Mahnoor is a qualified Solicitor Advocate with a sharp business acumen and a specialized focus on UK immigration law. With extensive experience in immigration, nationality law, and related public law matters, she advises both private clients, including High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs), and businesses on a wide array of immigration matters. Her expertise spans the Points-Based System, with particular emphasis on skilled workers, global business mobility, sponsor licenses, and compliance.

Having worked in one of the world’s largest immigration practices, Mahnoor’s diverse client portfolio includes SMEs and global companies across various sectors, including technology, financial services, and professional services. Her practice is grounded in providing strategic, high-quality legal services tailored to her clients’ unique needs, helping them navigate the complexities of the immigration process. Mahnoor’s practice also involves employment and family law disputes, enabling her to provide well-rounded solutions to both businesses and individuals.

Known for her commitment to client care, Mahnoor takes the time to truly understand each client’s situation and provides practical, clear, and actionable advice. Her keen attention to detail ensures that all aspects of a case are thoroughly considered, allowing her to propose solutions that are both effective and efficient. Mahnoor’s passion for immigration law drives her to continually stay ahead of legal developments, ensuring her clients receive the most up-to-date and insightful guidance.

In addition to her advisory work, Mahnoor’s practice also involves significant contentious work, including litigating statutory appeals, judicial reviews, and permission to appeal applications in the higher courts of England and Wales. She has successfully represented clients in notable cases and has a high success rate particularly in settling matters prior to entering the courts – an outcome which is often cost effective and desired by clients.


Qualifications:

Mahnoor has been passionate about UK law from a young age, and this is reflected in her excellent academic and professional credentials:

  • 2019 | Higher Courts (Civil Advocacy) Qualification
  • 2019| Legal Practice Course | Distinction
  • 2016 |Master of Laws (Specialism in International Commercial Law) | Distinction | Prize of Academic Excellence obtained for achieving the highest overall Distinction grade in the cohort | Prize for achieving the highest Distinction in Energy Law.
  • 2015 | Bachelor of Laws


Notable Cases:


|Court of Appeal:

  • Permission to Appeal granted. A pioneering case that began at the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and progressed to the Court of Appeal, providing critical guidance on the concept of an ‘innovative business idea’ and the role of Home Office approved endorsement bodies.
  • Permission to Appeal granted in a case concerning complex TOEIC matters.


High Court:

  • Riaz v SSHD [2019] EWHC 721: A reported case that provided essential guidance on removals within UK Immigration Law.
  • A Judicial Review application concerning the refusal of a British passport application on the account of lack of evidence which resulted from parental abandonment. The matter was settled by consent, securing a favourable outcome.
  • A Judicial Review application concerning the refusal to grant British nationality on the account of lack of identity verification of an absent parent. The matter was settled by consent and the concerned child was ultimately granted British nationality.
  • A Judicial Review application that resulted in the reformulation of Home Office policy on the right of single or remarried mothers to pass on British nationality to their children.


Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber):

  • A Judicial Review application that highlighted a gap in the Immigration Rules concerning those on a route to settlement based on family life under Appendix FM. It reached the Court of Appeal, with a favourable outcome for the client.
  • A Judicial Review application concerning statelessness and the British Nationality Act [1981], which was settled with a successful outcome for the client.
  • A series of three separate Judicial Review applications that clarified the Minded to Refuse procedure for Entry Clearance matters.
  • A Judicial Review application concerning unmarried partners under Appendix FM, where Permission for Judicial Review was granted.

 

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