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Aspiring Lawyers - Applications & General Advice
General Discussion
Career Guidance — TC vs SQE2 + QWE Route (Graduate Visa Expiring Jan 2026)
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<blockquote data-quote="m.legalcontact" data-source="post: 215621" data-attributes="member: 37296"><p><strong>Hey [USER=36738]@Ram Sabaratnam[/USER] </strong></p><p></p><p>Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for explaining everything so thoroughly. I agree that qualifying via the SQE2 is still somewhat risky given the market hasn’t fully adjusted to that route, which could place barriers on employability both in the UK and the Middle East.</p><p></p><p>I recently realised that my current paralegal role would only count for one year of QWE, even though I’ve been with the firm for two. This is because I spent a significant amount of time working on a DocuSign workstream, which was more tech-focused than “legal work” under the QWE requirements. With that in mind, I anticipate heading back to Dubai in January 2026 needing one more year of QWE. My plan is to look for a paralegal role in Dubai, ideally with a firm that is familiar with the SQE route, though I would also consider any reputable international firm. This would hopefully allow me to line up a potential path to qualification while also continuing to apply for TCs from Dubai. In practice, this would give me around a one-year buffer to settle into the transition and see which route works out best, ultimately also giving me cross-border experience under my belt which would count for something when applying to TCs for another year. Does that sound like a reasonable approach?</p><p></p><p>In the meantime, I’m treating this application cycle as my last and applying as widely as I can for winter vacation schemes and direct TCs, although I haven’t had much success so far. Having this alternative plan in mind makes me feel more grounded, but I’d really value your perspective on whether it’s a sensible way forward.</p><p></p><p>I really appreciate all your help so far, and I hope this thread is also useful for anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="m.legalcontact, post: 215621, member: 37296"] [B]Hey [USER=36738]@Ram Sabaratnam[/USER] [/B] Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for explaining everything so thoroughly. I agree that qualifying via the SQE2 is still somewhat risky given the market hasn’t fully adjusted to that route, which could place barriers on employability both in the UK and the Middle East. I recently realised that my current paralegal role would only count for one year of QWE, even though I’ve been with the firm for two. This is because I spent a significant amount of time working on a DocuSign workstream, which was more tech-focused than “legal work” under the QWE requirements. With that in mind, I anticipate heading back to Dubai in January 2026 needing one more year of QWE. My plan is to look for a paralegal role in Dubai, ideally with a firm that is familiar with the SQE route, though I would also consider any reputable international firm. This would hopefully allow me to line up a potential path to qualification while also continuing to apply for TCs from Dubai. In practice, this would give me around a one-year buffer to settle into the transition and see which route works out best, ultimately also giving me cross-border experience under my belt which would count for something when applying to TCs for another year. Does that sound like a reasonable approach? In the meantime, I’m treating this application cycle as my last and applying as widely as I can for winter vacation schemes and direct TCs, although I haven’t had much success so far. Having this alternative plan in mind makes me feel more grounded, but I’d really value your perspective on whether it’s a sensible way forward. I really appreciate all your help so far, and I hope this thread is also useful for anyone else who finds themselves in a similar situation. [/QUOTE]
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Career Guidance — TC vs SQE2 + QWE Route (Graduate Visa Expiring Jan 2026)
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