How can a UK lawyer work in Singapore?

Dec 11, 2022

Written By Tom Hale

The process of a UK lawyer moving their career to the glittering nation of Singapore is an exciting, yet difficult one. Regardless of difficulty there is, as always, a list of stages you must carry out if you wish to make the move.

Making the move

Although making the move from the UK to work as a lawyer in Singapore is complex, it is by no means impossible.

There are two routes possible to take. Regardless of which avenue you take, you must also acquire an Employment Pass. This is Singapore’s equivalent of a Work Visa.

The already qualified route

If you are already a lawyer in the UK then you must undertake the Foreign Practitioner Examination (FPE). By applying to the Director of Legal Services a UK lawyer can undertake this examination as long as they have at least three years of relevant legal experience.

By taking the FPE a foreign lawyer can practise law in permitted areas of Singapore law, such as Banking and Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Intellectual Property Law.

If you are accepted to take the FPE, you pass, and you acquire an Employment Pass, then as a UK lawyer you can work in Singapore.

The not yet qualified route

Alternatively, if you are a UK national but are not yet a practising lawyer in the UK there is another route you can take to becoming a lawyer in Singapore. This one is harder as you have not acquired the prior experience that would make you, as a possible lawyer, more appealing to Singapore.

This route includes you applying to the Singapore Bar as a foreign national and undertaking the usual route of becoming a lawyer in the nation. This route is harder, not only do you need to be accepted onto the course but it will be difficult without proficiency in the national languages of Singapore (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) and a prior understanding of the local culture.

How else can a UK lawyer work in Singapore?

If you’d rather not go through the process of qualification, but are still interested in working in Singapore, there’s the option to do an international secondment. Typically six months of your training contract, this provides you with the chance to work in one of the firm’s overseas offices, gaining valuable insights into how a different jurisdiction operates.

Firms offering an international secondment in Singapore include: Watson Farley & Williams, Shearman & Sterling and Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC). Click here to read our interview with a Shearman & Sterling trainee about her experience completing an international secondment in Singapore.

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