How long does the LLM in Immigration Law take?

The LLM in Immigration Law runs one year full-time or two years part-time. Distance-learning students on the LLM in Immigration Law usually complete over the two-year part-time schedule alongside practice.

Is the LLM available online?

Yes. The LLM in Immigration Law is offered on-campus in central London, online with live seminars, and by distance learning. All modes require the dissertation.

Does the LLM qualify me as an immigration adviser?

The LLM in Immigration Law is a strong academic and practice-informed foundation for immigration practice, but Home Office-regulated advice work requires separate authorisation via the Immigration Advice Authority, and solicitor/barrister routes require SQE or Bar training respectively.

What are the entry requirements?

You need a UK Bachelor's in law (2:2 or above) or an equivalent international law qualification, plus IELTS 6.5 where relevant. Senior practitioners without a Bachelor's may apply on portfolio for the LLM in Immigration Law.

What are the fees and is funding available?

Fees for the LLM in Immigration Law vary by mode and are published on the LSLPE fees page. Instalment plans, employer sponsorship and postgraduate loan guidance are handled by the admissions team on request.

LLM in Immigration Law | LSLPE | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The LLM in Immigration Law is a UK Level 7 postgraduate degree running one year full-time or two years part-time across on-campus, online and distance routes. The programme covers the Immigration Rules, the points-based system, asylum and refugee protection, EU-settled-status legacies, sponsor licensing, judicial review of Home Office decisions, and Article 8 ECHR family and private-life claims, drawing on First-tier and Upper Tribunal jurisprudence.

By graduation, students on the LLM in Immigration Law are producing appellate-standard case notes on Court of Appeal and Supreme Court immigration authorities, drafting grounds of appeal, preparing detailed representations to the Home Office, and completing a substantial dissertation on a live UK immigration or asylum reform question.

Key Features

Doctrinal and practical modules mapped to Solicitors Regulation Authority, CILEX and Immigration Advice Authority guidance areas.
Advocacy seminars on First-tier and Upper Tribunal practice.
Guest sessions from practising immigration solicitors, barristers and specialist advice-sector caseworkers.
Dissertation supervision by tutors active in immigration or refugee-law practice.
Access to LSLPE's central London seminar rooms and observation visits to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
Small cohort model with named programme tutor for every student on the LLM in Immigration Law.

What You Will Learn

Interpret the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance in complex cases.
Advise on the points-based system, sponsor licensing and business immigration.
Handle asylum claims under the Refugee Convention and the Nationality and Borders framework.
Draft grounds of appeal to the First-tier and Upper Tribunal.
Advise on Article 8 ECHR family and private-life claims.
Handle judicial review of Home Office decisions.
Advise on citizenship, statelessness and deprivation cases.
Design an immigration-law dissertation project with a defensible methodology.

Who This Course Is For

Immigration solicitors and barristers extending doctrinal and reform-oriented depth.
Legal executives seeking postgraduate specialisation on the CILEX immigration route.
Advice-sector caseworkers regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority.
International lawyers seeking UK Master's-level immigration expertise.
Senior HR and mobility professionals working with sponsor-licence responsibilities.

Career Pathways

Senior Immigration Solicitor in a City, regional or legal-aid practice.
Immigration Barrister on the Tribunal circuit.
Immigration Adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority.
In-house Counsel to a global-mobility team at a large employer.
Legal Adviser to a refugee-support or advice-sector charity.
Human Rights Adviser in an international body or NGO.
Policy Adviser on migration and asylum in Whitehall or a think tank.

The LSLPE careers service works with every LLM in Immigration Law student on senior applications to chambers, immigration firms, refugee charities and the Government Legal Department.

Entry Requirements

A UK Bachelor's degree (2:2 or above) in law, or an equivalent international law qualification, for the LLM in Immigration Law.
IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
Applicants without a law degree but with 5+ years of senior professional experience in immigration advice, asylum casework or migration policy are considered on portfolio.
One academic and one professional reference.
A 500-word research proposal on the intended dissertation theme.

Why Study at LSLPE

LSLPE reads immigration law alongside politics and economics, recognising that migration policy sits at a live intersection of legislation, political choice and labour-market dynamics. Central London places the Home Office, the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, specialist chambers and refugee charities within a short tube ride, and every LLM cohort is taught in the small select-committee format that defines the school.

Three parallel study modes allow practising solicitors, barristers, advice-sector caseworkers and international applicants to complete the LLM in Immigration Law without stepping away from live case-loads. Dissertation supervision draws on practising immigration lawyers and senior policy advisers.

Apply for LLM in Immigration Law

The LLM in Immigration Law closes with a dissertation, capstone or sponsor project supervised by practitioners active in the Tribunal system and the immigration advice sector. Apply for the LLM at LSLPE. Enrol Now.