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Legal Update
Sonali Naik KC and Kingsley Napley Public Law Team Finalizing Phase 1 Legal Opinion
January 15, 2026 โข
5 min read
The organisation announced a major development in its advocacy efforts: "We have officially instructed Sonali Naik KC of Garden Court Chambers to lead our legal challenge against the government's proposed retrospective changes to the 5-year settlement route."
Naik brings extensive credentials as "one of the UK's most distinguished barristers" with three decades of immigration, public law, and human rights experience. She collaborates with David Sellwood and Kingsley Napley's Public Law team on the Phase 1 opinion, which establishes formal grounds for judicial review centred on "legitimate expectation" of skilled workers who relocated under the settled promise of a 5-year path to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The strategy employs dual workstreams: litigation pursued through Public Law, while the Immigration team separately engages the Home Office constructively.
The Phase 1 completion will inform a Pre-Action Protocol letter. Community fundraising through CrowdJustice exceeded the initial ยฃ25,000 target, enabling this phase.
Naik brings extensive credentials as "one of the UK's most distinguished barristers" with three decades of immigration, public law, and human rights experience. She collaborates with David Sellwood and Kingsley Napley's Public Law team on the Phase 1 opinion, which establishes formal grounds for judicial review centred on "legitimate expectation" of skilled workers who relocated under the settled promise of a 5-year path to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The strategy employs dual workstreams: litigation pursued through Public Law, while the Immigration team separately engages the Home Office constructively.
The Phase 1 completion will inform a Pre-Action Protocol letter. Community fundraising through CrowdJustice exceeded the initial ยฃ25,000 target, enabling this phase.