Registered European Lawyers (RELs)
Updated 3 Janaury 2025
To be eligible to apply for admission as a solicitor of England and Wales you must be:
- a Swiss lawyer (see below)
- a national of the UK or a Swiss national
- registered with us continuously as an REL for three years.
A 'Swiss lawyer' is defined as a national of the UK or a Swiss national who, before 31 December 2020, was authorised in Switzerland to pursue professional activities under the professional title of:
- Avocat
- Advokat
- Rechtsanwalt
- Anwalt
- Fürsprecher
- Fürsprech
- Avvocato.
Or had, at that date, commenced training towards the professional qualifications required to obtain such a professional title and completes that training by 1 January 2025.
You must also have been:
- effectively and regularly practising English and Welsh law under your Swiss professional title in England and Wales for three years, or
- effective and regularly practising under your Swiss professional title in England and Wales for three years, practising English and Welsh law for part of that time and have other relevant experience in English and Welsh law.
'Effectively and regularly' is defined in regulation 33 of The European Communities (Lawyer's Practice) Regulations 2000 and means without any interruption other than that resulting from the events of everyday life.
These applications are made under Part V of The European Communities (Lawyer's Practice) Regulations 2000 to the extent that they continue to have effect in accordance with regulations 6 and 10 of The Services of Lawyers and Lawyer's Practice (Revocation etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
To apply you must:
- meet all the above eligibility requirements
- complete our screening requirements.
Once your screening is complete, you can apply for admission by emailing us and requesting the application. You should then:
- complete the REL admission application and reading the accompanying guidance notes
- provide a certificate of good standing/attestation from your home law society or bar, confirming your practising status as well as disciplinary information. This can be no older than three months.
If you are a Swiss lawyer looking to qualify through either of the adaptation period or aptitude test routes, read our information and guidance.
Service levels
We aim to decide within four months of receiving your application.
It may take longer depending on the complexity of the application or should we need to contact you to provide further information.
Cost
The application fee is £500, and if successful your first practising certificate is free.
The cost of your background checks and screening application is £34.