Jackie Penlington

Managing Associate
Jackie helps clients find immigration solutions to come or remain in the UK.
Jackie helps clients find immigration solutions to come or remain in the UK.

About

Jackie is an experienced and collaborative lawyer who guides clients through the UK immigration system. 

By providing clear and commercial advice she enables her clients to fully understand their immigration options in the UK and achieve their objectives. Particularly for personal immigration clients she understands that the process can be extremely stressful and her streamlined and responsive approach removes the burden from them as far possible.

She joined Stevens & Bolton in 2014, having trained at a City firm and subsequently worked at a niche immigration practice in London for several years. She had previously spent time living and working abroad in France, Italy, Ecuador and Nepal which sparked her interest in immigration.

Jackie is an expert in business immigration matters, including advising businesses ranging from global corporates to SMEs and start-ups on obtaining sponsor licences and on fulfilling their sponsor compliance duties, as well as assisting their employees with Skilled Worker, Senior/Specialist Worker and internship applications. Jackie also steers clients through complex business immigration queries, including the impact of corporate transactions on sponsorship and right to work issues.

Jackie has extensive experience in personal immigration law, including advising on obtaining permission to enter or stay and settlement in a wide range of immigration categories, including spouse/unmarried partner, ancestry and Global Talent. She also regularly advises on the full spectrum of EU Settlement Scheme applications, including pre-settled, settled status applications and Family Permits, as well as helping clients apply for British nationality.

Jackie has written numerous articles on immigration issues for publications and is an active member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA).

Expertise
Immigration for businesses Immigration for individuals Life sciences

Experience

  • Recent work
    • Advising on a client’s complex immigration matters that arose from a corporate transaction, including in relation to one of their employees whose immigration leave had expired and in relation to the indemnities and warranties in the share purchase agreement;
    • Advising in relation to a British National (Overseas) Indefinite Leave to Remain application;
    • Advising on multiple Skilled Worker applications for a start-up, including where the individuals had previous visa refusals;
    • Providing strategic advice on the limitations of the business visitor route for one of our multi-national corporate clients.
  • Qualifications and recognition

    Jackie was recognised as a Leading Associate in the Legal 500 (2025).

  • Advising on a client’s complex immigration matters that arose from a corporate transaction, including in relation to one of their employees whose immigration leave had expired and in relation to the indemnities and warranties in the share purchase agreement;
  • Advising in relation to a British National (Overseas) Indefinite Leave to Remain application;
  • Advising on multiple Skilled Worker applications for a start-up, including where the individuals had previous visa refusals;
  • Providing strategic advice on the limitations of the business visitor route for one of our multi-national corporate clients.

Jackie was recognised as a Leading Associate in the Legal 500 (2025).

Jackie Penlington took the burden away from us to deal with a complex immigration application and successfully completed the process.
The team is very professional and approachable, I have worked with Jackie Penlington, several times since 2011. She has helped me with all my visas here in the last 10 years. She is very clever and thorough, very precise, she is willing to explain the legal topics and immigration process and terminology, in different ways, until everything is understood 100%.
Jackie Penlington is kind, patient and helpful. Her level of care in her work is high, which allows for a high degree of comfort to be felt. She was very accommodating and flexible, and always willing to answer any questions raised. I valued her time, energy and care she put into my case, and will forever be grateful.

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