Denise Osterwald
Denise is a Legal Director with extensive experience in UK immigration, nationality law and global practice management. Since qualifying as a Solicitor in 2012 she has assisted many of the world’s largest organisations across sectors including pharma, financial and professional services, manufacturing and energy in managing their global mobility programmes.
Denise supports clients with sponsor licence applications and subsequent employee visa applications. She has a particular interest in working with clients to ensure their employee mobility policies are best-in-class and ensuring her clients have solid immigration compliance processes in place to protect them from Home Office enforcement action. She is also well versed in supporting businesses through mergers, acquisitions, divestments (including those involving the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Union), and business simplification projects.
Denise has lived in several countries and worked in various international organisations, not just as a qualified immigration lawyer, but also as a people and operations manager in industry. This gives her a unique perspective on issues that clients face when it comes to moving their workforce around the globe, which can often go beyond immigration considerations and include employment law, and tax and social security considerations. She combines her own experiences with pragmatic and commercially sound legal advice to support clients in reaching their business objectives.
Recognising that going through relocation and immigration processes can be a very stressful time for employers and employees alike, Denise is responsive, excellent at providing the relevant information, and provides all involved with comprehensive support throughout the often overly bureaucratic immigration process.
Over the years Denise has also advised many high-net-worth individuals and family offices in relation to personal immigration. Denise will work with the applicant (or their nominated contact) to establish the most beneficial visa route for them and their family members, which can include establishing an innovative business in the UK, obtaining a visa based on the applicant’s particular specialism within a defined industry, and supporting sports personalities or creative workers. Denise remains a trusted advisor to private clients until they have received their British nationality (where desired) and their UK passport.
Denise has represented an immigration specialist’s view in many industry events, including round table discussions with Home Office representatives.
Being a native German speaker she able to support businesses as well as private clients in this language if required.
In her spare time Denise likes to read biographies and travel.
