Malini Skandachanmugarasan

Malini is a partner in the Immigration team and leads the firm's growing personal and private client immigration practice. She is recognised as one of the UK's leading immigration lawyers advising both organisations and individuals and specialising in UK immigration law, Nationality law and European law for over a decade.   

The Legal 500 marks her out as a Next Generation Partner, and Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader “providing the right solutions” to complex immigration issues. She is also individually ranked by Chambers for her Personal Immigration work.

Her clients range from financial institutions and UK start-ups, working with them on their business immigration matters. Malini’s private client caseload is mainly made up of Politically Exposed Persons, high net worth individuals, senior executives and international families as well as those seeking asylum in the UK or relying on human rights. 

In addition to her considerable experience in business immigration with a focus on companies looking to set up in the UK, Malini day to day practice and expertise involves assisting on complex and discretionary personal immigration matters, navigating  private clients with all UK immigration applications to the point of British Citizenship. Her practice has a particular emphasis on applications based on partnership, family and private life, human rights and discretionary leave outside the Immigration Rules. Malini’s clients benefit from her creative strategic thinking and comprehensive understanding of UK immigration law and policy.

Before joining Doyle Clayton in 2020, Malini was a Senior Solicitor at a Band 1 boutique immigration firm heading its "outstanding" Human Rights and Appeals practice and also managing the firm’s pro bono cases. 

Externally, Malini is a highly experienced trainer and is regularly invited to speak internationally on immigration topics. She also regularly contributes to publications including LexisNexis and provides legal commentary in the general media including The Guardian and LBC Radio.

What people say about Malini

Webinars include 

• Enrolling International Students and Student Visa Sponsorship in Independent Schools - This webinar explores what independent schools in the UK need to do and be aware of to recruit and enrol international students under the UK’s post Brexit immigration system.
• Remote(ly) controlled employees - Do you have employees working overseas? - This webinar looks at the implications of an overseas workforce.

Experience and qualifications 

• Qualified in 2007
• Specialist in Immigration Law since 2007

Education and professional memberships 

• Oxford - MA Jurisprudence 

Areas of expertise 

• Personal Immigration advice
• Standard Visitor visa advice
• UK Family visa advice
• Bringing foreign employees to the UK
• Employing foreign workers already in the UK
• Business restructuring - foreign employees