Already a lawyer abroad? Here is how the SQE works for you
If you qualified as a lawyer outside England and Wales and want to practise here as a solicitor, the route runs through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). The SQE replaced the QLTS in 2021, and unlike the old transfer test it is open to qualified lawyers from all jurisdictions — there is no longer a separate scheme just for foreign lawyers. You sit the same assessment that domestic candidates sit, but with one important advantage: you may be exempt from part or all of it because of the qualification and experience you already hold.
That single word — exemptions — is what makes the overseas route different. A newly qualified lawyer from India, Nigeria, the United States or Pakistan does not necessarily start from zero. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can recognise that you have already demonstrated competence in certain areas and waive the corresponding parts of the SQE.
This guide explains how exemptions actually work, the FLK1-only and FLK2-only routes, a practical country-by-country comparison, and a step-by-step checklist for qualifying from overseas. A quick but essential disclaimer first: exemption outcomes are decided by the SRA on the facts of your application, and the position changes over time. Everything below is illustrative. Always confirm your own position on the SRA's exemptions pages and through your mySRA account before making decisions.
If you are an international student or a non-law graduate rather than an already-qualified lawyer, the general pathway is covered in our companion piece, SQE for international and non-law graduates. This article assumes you are already admitted to practise in another jurisdiction and focuses specifically on exemptions.
What the SQE actually is
Before exemptions make sense, you need to know what you might be exempted from. The SQE has two stages:
- SQE1 tests Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) through 360 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions, split across two papers: FLK1 (180 questions) and FLK2 (180 questions). It is set by the SRA and delivered by Kaplan, covering 13 subjects and 142 topics, and is offered in roughly four sittings a year — around January, April, July and October.
- SQE2 tests practical legal skills — client interviewing, advocacy, legal writing, drafting, research and case analysis — across oral and written assessments.
Because SQE1 splits cleanly into FLK1 and FLK2, the SRA can grant a partial exemption: you might be excused FLK1, FLK2, both, and/or SQE2 depending on what your prior qualification covers. That is the origin of the FLK1-only and FLK2-only routes that many overseas lawyers end up taking.
| SQE stage | What it tests | Format | Can it be exempted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQE1 — FLK1 | Business law, dispute resolution, contract, tort, legal system, constitutional/EU, legal services | 180 single-best-answer MCQs | Yes — alone or with FLK2 |
| SQE1 — FLK2 | Property, wills/estates, solicitors' accounts, land law, trusts, criminal law/practice | 180 single-best-answer MCQs | Yes — alone or with FLK1 |
| SQE2 | Practical legal skills (oral + written) | 16 skills assessments | Yes — case by case |
If you want the full breakdown of what each paper contains, our SQE1 syllabus guide to all 13 subjects and 142 topics maps every topic to its FLK paper.
How SQE exemptions work
There are two routes to an exemption, and it is worth understanding the difference because it changes how much evidence you need to assemble.
1. Pre-agreed exemptions
For some jurisdictions the SRA has already assessed the qualification and published the exemptions it will grant. If your qualification appears on the SRA's list of pre-agreed exemptions, the process is faster and more predictable: you are not asking the SRA to make a fresh judgement, only to confirm that you meet the published criteria. These pre-agreed exemptions typically expect around two years' post-qualification legal experience as part of the recognition, though the exact requirement depends on the specific qualification.
2. Individual exemptions
If your qualification is not on the pre-agreed list — or your circumstances are unusual — you can apply for an individual exemption, assessed case by case. Here you submit detailed evidence of your qualification, the subjects it covered and your experience, and the SRA decides what (if anything) to waive. This route is more involved and less certain, but it is the mechanism that makes the SQE genuinely open to lawyers from every jurisdiction.
What can be exempted
In both routes the SRA can grant exemptions from:
- SQE1 in full (both FLK1 and FLK2)
- A single FLK paper — FLK1 or FLK2 — leaving you to sit the other
- SQE2
In practice, very few overseas lawyers are exempted from everything. It is far more common to be exempted from one stage and still need to sit the other — which is precisely why focused, affordable preparation for the paper you must sit matters so much.
The other requirements
Two further points apply to nearly every overseas applicant:
- Qualifying Work Experience (QWE): domestic candidates must complete two years of QWE. Foreign-qualified lawyers are generally exempt from QWE on the basis of the experience gained in their home jurisdiction. Our QWE guide explains the requirement in full if you want to understand what you are being excused from.
- English (or Welsh) language requirement: you must satisfy the SRA's English (or Welsh) language requirement. Confirm the current accepted evidence on the SRA site.
Every application — exemption request, language evidence and the rest — runs through your mySRA account. Set that up early; it is where you will track everything.
Country guide: illustrative routes
The table below is a starting point for orientation, not a ruling. Whether you receive a pre-agreed or individual exemption, and which papers it covers, depends entirely on your qualification, when you obtained it and your experience — as assessed by the SRA. Treat every cell as "often" or "in many cases", and verify your own position on the SRA's exemptions pages and via mySRA.
| Jurisdiction | Typical route | Exemptions often considered | What you'll likely still sit | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India (Advocate, enrolled with a State Bar) | Often an individual exemption; some candidates with substantial experience seek wider recognition | Possible exemption from elements of SQE1 and/or SQE2 depending on subjects covered and experience | Frequently one or both FLK papers, as English-law-specific subjects (e.g. property, wills, solicitors' accounts) are rarely fully covered | The FLK paper(s) you must sit — especially FLK2 subjects unique to England & Wales |
| Nigeria (called to the Nigerian Bar) | Often an individual exemption, assessed on the LLB/BL and experience | Possible exemption from parts of SQE1 and/or SQE2 | Commonly at least one FLK paper; some candidates sit both FLK1 and FLK2 | Both FLK papers if required, with attention to business law, property and trusts |
| USA (admitted attorney, a US state bar) | Often an individual exemption; common-law background can help | Possible exemption from SQE2 and/or parts of SQE1, varying widely by state and practice area | Frequently SQE1 (one or both FLK papers), since US bar exams differ substantially from English FLK | FLK1 and FLK2 content, focusing on the gaps between US and English law |
| Pakistan (Advocate, enrolled with a Bar Council) | Often an individual exemption, assessed on qualification and experience | Possible exemption from elements of SQE1 and/or SQE2 | Commonly one or both FLK papers | The required FLK paper(s), with focus on England & Wales-specific subjects |
A few honest observations from this pattern:
- Almost everyone sits at least one FLK paper. Even with a strong common-law background, the subjects that are distinctive to England & Wales — land law, wills and estates, trusts, solicitors' accounts, English criminal practice — are rarely covered by an overseas qualification. These cluster heavily in FLK2, which is why FLK2-only scenarios are common.
- Practice area matters. A litigator may find dispute resolution and criminal practice familiar; a corporate lawyer may breeze through business law but need to build property and trusts knowledge from scratch.
- Do not assume a "deal". There is no shortcut to checking. We have deliberately not stated definitive outcomes for any country, because doing so would be misleading — the SRA decides, and it decides on your specific file.
For a deeper country-by-country treatment kept in step with SRA updates, this remains our most detailed resource — but the SRA's own pages are always the authority.
How to qualify from overseas: step-by-step checklist
Here is the sequence most foreign-qualified lawyers follow. Work through it roughly in order, but expect some overlap.
- Create your mySRA account. Everything routes through it — exemption applications, language evidence, booking and admission. Do this first.
- Assess your exemptions. Check whether your qualification has pre-agreed exemptions. If not, prepare an individual exemption application with full evidence of your qualification, the subjects it covered and your experience (typically with an eye to around two years' experience for recognition).
- Confirm exactly what you must sit. Once the SRA responds, you will know whether you face FLK1, FLK2, both, SQE2, or some combination. This is the moment your prep plan crystallises — and the moment to stop guessing and start studying.
- Confirm your QWE position. As a foreign-qualified lawyer you are generally exempt from QWE, but confirm this rather than assume it.
- Meet the English (or Welsh) language requirement. Gather the evidence the SRA currently accepts.
- Prepare for the papers you must sit. This is the part you control most directly. Drill the exam format, work the weak subjects, and sit full mocks. A free FLK1 and FLK2 mock exam is a good way to benchmark before you commit to a sitting.
- Book your SQE sittings. SQE1 runs roughly four times a year (around January, April, July and October) through Kaplan. Map your prep to a realistic date — our exam dates and deadlines timeline helps you work backwards from a sitting.
- Pass, then complete character and suitability. Alongside passing your assessments you must satisfy the SRA's character and suitability requirements.
- Apply for admission as a solicitor of England & Wales.
If you are unsure how many hours the prep stage will take, our guide on how many hours to study for SQE1 gives realistic ranges you can adapt to a one-paper or two-paper plan.
The cost reality — and why self-study wins for overseas lawyers
The numbers are a big part of the overseas decision. The total SQE assessment fee rises to 5,092 pounds from September 2026 (up from 4,808 pounds) — and that is just the exam, before any preparation. Our full SQE cost breakdown for 2026 sets out every fee in detail.
On top of the assessment fee, many commercial overseas-lawyer courses cost several thousand pounds more — sometimes more than the exam itself. For a self-funding lawyer who, after exemptions, only needs to sit one FLK paper, paying for a sprawling full-SQE course is poor value. You do not need a course covering everything; you need targeted, exam-format practice for the specific paper the SRA says you must sit.
That is exactly the gap an affordable self-study platform fills:
- You already know the law in your home jurisdiction — you need to learn the England & Wales-specific subjects and the single-best-answer MCQ technique, not be taught from scratch.
- You can focus your effort on the FLK paper(s) you actually have to sit, rather than paying for content you will be exempt from.
- You keep control of cost and pace, which matters when you may also be relocating, working, or managing time zones.
If you are weighing self-study against a paid course more broadly, our SQE1 self-study guide for 2026 and our roundup of the best SQE1 study materials in 2026 lay out the options.
Preparing efficiently for the paper(s) you must sit
Once mySRA tells you what you are facing, prep becomes a focused, finite project. A few principles:
- Lead with practice, not reading. SQE1 is a single-best-answer MCQ exam, and the skill of choosing the best answer among plausible options is learned by doing. Build your sessions around practice questions and short, frequent quick quizzes rather than passive reading.
- Practise by subject to expose gaps. Working practice questions by subject quickly reveals where an overseas qualification leaves you short — usually the FLK2 cluster of land, trusts, wills and solicitors' accounts.
- Use study notes to plug specific gaps, not to relearn what you already know. Notes covering all 142 topics mean you can go straight to the unfamiliar ones.
- Reinforce with flashcards for retention. Spaced repetition is ideal for the high-volume factual recall FLK papers demand. If you are deciding between formats, see flashcards and Anki decks vs a question bank.
- Benchmark with full mocks before you book, so your sitting date is a decision, not a gamble.
- Read widely if you have time — our ebooks consolidate the syllabus for offline study.
For the full method, our guide on how to pass SQE1 in 2026 brings the technique together, and if the difficulty is on your mind, how hard is SQE1 sets realistic expectations on pass rates.
Frequently asked questions
Do all foreign-qualified lawyers get exemptions? No. Some receive substantial exemptions; many receive partial exemptions and still sit one or both FLK papers; a few receive none. It depends on your qualification and experience, assessed by the SRA. Verify through mySRA.
Can I really be exempted from just one FLK paper? Yes — FLK1-only and FLK2-only outcomes are common. Because SQE1 splits into two papers, the SRA can waive one and require the other.
Am I exempt from Qualifying Work Experience? Foreign-qualified lawyers are generally exempt from QWE. Confirm your position rather than assume it.
Where is the authoritative source on exemptions? The SRA's exemptions pages and your mySRA account. This guide is illustrative; the SRA is authoritative.
Your next step: prepare smart, not expensive
If you are a foreign-qualified lawyer, the maths is compelling. After exemptions you may only need to sit one FLK paper — so paying thousands for a full overseas-lawyer course makes little sense. What you actually need is affordable, exam-format preparation for the specific paper the SRA requires.
That is what SQE1 Prep is built for: 3,500+ practice questions, 4,200+ flashcards, study notes for all 142 topics, and full FLK1 and FLK2 mock exams — for a one-time payment with lifetime access, backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee. No subscription, no four-figure course fee, and your access does not expire if your sitting slips a cycle.
Start by building a free personalised study plan around the paper(s) you must sit, then see how little focused, professional prep actually costs on our pricing page. Once the SRA confirms your exemptions, everything else is just disciplined practice — and that part is very much in your control.