Anita de Atouguia

Practice Areas

Anita practises both business and personal immigration and is the firm’s Head of Immigration.

Anita has specialised in immigration law since 2000 and is one of the UK's leading immigration experts. She joined Doyle Clayton in 2012 to set up its Immigration service, having worked in the immigration practices of some of the UK’s best known full service law firms including CMS and Lewis Silkin.

Throughout her career, Anita has helped organisations (including law firms) set up and expand in the UK - getting the licences, sponsorships, visas and permissions needed to enable the people that they want as well as their families to work, live and also study in Britain.

She has also helped many well-known entrepreneurs, investors, actors, celebrities and sports people as well their relations (including foreign husbands/wives/spouses, civil partners, fiance(es), proposed civil partners, children and adult dependants) and personal advisors come to the UK, extend their stay - with many remaining permanently (Indefinite Leave to Remain), be naturalised and become British citizens and UK passport holders.

Anita has excellent multi-tasking skills and a keen eye for detail which enables her to provide her clients with a rounded service, including providing strategic advice on complex immigration issues. Her considerable network of contacts within the UK Home Office (built up from personally developing the relationships with UKVI over the years) ensures that, where required, clients have an expedited service and first-class treatment.

Under Anita's leadership the firm’s Immigration team has built a reputation for its “refreshingly straightforward” approach and is regularly described as “excellent” and “outstanding in a really complex area”, and as having “more professional and expert staff than other firms”.

Career

Qualified in South Africa as an Advocate of the High Court in August 2000.

Specialist in Immigration Law since 2000.

Qualified (converted to UK Solicitor qualification) in May 2008.

CMS Cameron McKenna 2006 to 2007.

Lewis Silkin 2007 to 2012.

Joined Doyle Clayton in 2012.

Professional Memberships

Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA).

The Law Society.

Publications

Anita is regularly in the broadsheets including The Guardian as well as specialist legal press – most recently The In-House Lawyer discussing developments in the UK immigration system.