EU mobility after Brexit: practice rights and rules in EU 27 member states
This guide gives an overview of the conditions applying in each member state to solicitors temporarily based there. It does not address the conditions applying to solicitors permanently based in an EU member state or those providing advice remotely.
It should be treated as guidance only. The approach individuals and firms will want to take may change depending on their individual circumstances.
We'll update this guide as our understanding of each regulatory framework deepens and the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) progresses.
Solicitors travelling to the EU on business should also be mindful of the immigration requirements applying in each member state and the possible impact on tax.
For more details on immigration and taxation, see our guide on travelling to the EU on business after Brexit.
For more details on the rules applying to solicitors in each member state, email international@lawsociety.org.uk.
Under the TCA, UK qualified lawyers will in principle be able to practise in the EU using their home title and advise clients on English law and public international law.
However, this right is qualified by ‘non-conforming measures’ which each member state has listed in the annexes to the TCA.
These measures can place additional requirements or even effectively cancel the general principle of home title practice in certain jurisdictions.
Particular attention should be given to the conditions applying to solicitors in:
- Austria
- Cyprus
- Greece
- Portugal
- Slovenia
In addition, we're still in the process of clarifying how the TCA commitments on legal services will be implemented in:
- Croatia
- Estonia
- Luxembourg
- Malta
See below for more details on country-specific requirements.
Non-EU lawyers in Austria may provide legal services on home-country and public international law on a temporary basis at the request of a client.
They must:
- have received an explicit invitation from a client to travel to Austria for a limited time to advise on specific legal matter
- notify the relevant Austrian Bar Association in advance in writing (approval will take three to four weeks)
- use their home-country professional title
- state the place where they are admitted to the bar and the professional organisation of which they are members in their home country
- be subject to supervision by an Austrian Bar Association and its disciplinary measures
Non-EU lawyers can also represent clients in arbitration.
Solicitors in Belgium can advise clients on English law, public international law and EU law.
Solicitors who have a place of business in Brussels can register in the ‘B-list’ of one of the two Brussels bars.
Registration is optional, unless a solicitor either:
- wants to undertake joint practice with Belgian or other EU/EFTA lawyers or a collaboration contract with lawyers registered at the Brussels Bar (A and E lists), or
- intends to practise some aspects of Belgian law
Solicitors cannot represent clients in court.
Solicitors may practise in Bulgaria under their home title. They can register with the Supreme Council of the Bar to practise as a foreign attorney.
Foreign attorney status permits them to practise home country law and public international law.
In order to provide mediation services, solicitors need to be residents of Bulgaria and have been entered into the Uniform Register of Mediators with the minister of justice.
Non-EU lawyers can practise in Cyprus only if specially licensed by the Legal Council.
Article 7 of Cyprus Advocates Law gives the Legal Council the discretion to grant a special license to a foreign lawyer to appear before any court of the Republic in order to practise law in relation to a specific proceeding, case or matter.
Such a lawyer must appear before the court accompanied by an advocate practising in the Republic.
Solicitors may practise in the Czech Republic under their home title. They must register as a foreign lawyer with the Czech Bar Association.
Solicitors registered as foreign lawyers can practise English and Welsh law and public international law.
Solicitors can practise under their home-country professional title in Denmark and advise clients on home-country law and public international law.
They cannot appear in court and are not permitted to market their services.
If they intend to practise in Denmark on a permanent basis, they must register with the Danish Business Authority Register of Foreign Service Providers.
They are not registered by the bar and are not recognised as lawyers.
Solicitors may practise in Finland under their home title. They can:
- practise English and Welsh law
- practise public international law
- practise EU law and Finnish law
- represent clients in arbitration, conciliation and mediation
Registration is not required.
They cannot:
- represent clients in court. EU/EEA/Swiss lawyers may appear in court in association with a local lawyer
- use the title of 'advocate' – asianajaja in Finnish or advokat in Swedish
- partner with Finnish advocates or be partners in a law firm supervised by the Finnish Bar Association (asianajotoimisto)
EEA residency is required for the practice of patent agency services.
Solicitors regularly flying in and out of France to advise France-based clients on English and public international law need to register with the National Council of French Bars (Conseil National des Barreaux) as a foreign legal consultant (FLC) for either temporary or permanent practice.
FLC status for temporary practice lasts for one year.
Solicitors can advise clients in Germany on a fly-in-fly-out basis on English law and public international law.
There’s currently no foreign legal consultant status available in Greece for non-EU lawyers.
Solicitors can set up as business consultants.
They cannot:
- practise Greek law
- practise EU law
- sign contracts
- call themselves legal consultants
UK solicitors can practise in Hungary under their home title to advise Hungary-based clients provided they register with a Hungarian Bar as a ‘foreign legal adviser’.
They can only provide legal advice under a cooperation contract with a Hungarian attorney-at-law (ügyvéd) or law office (ügyvédi iroda).
The solicitor must have satisfactory professional indemnity insurance.
A solicitor registered as a foreign legal adviser with a cooperation contract with a Hungarian attorney can:
- practise English and Welsh law
- practise public international law
A solicitor cannot:
- practise in EU or Hungarian law
- prepare documents to be submitted to in arbitration, conciliation or mediation disputes
- act as a client’s legal representative before an arbitrator, conciliator or mediator in any dispute
EEA residency is required for the practice of patent agency services.
English solicitors can carry out non-reserved legal services provided that they do not hold themselves out as or use the title of Irish solicitor.
They may:
- practise English law
- carry out non-reserved legal services in Irish and EU law
- practise public international law
- represent clients in arbitration, conciliation or mediation
They may not:
- use the title of Irish solicitor
- carry out reserved legal services including probate, litigation or conveyancing work
- appear before the courts in Ireland
They may requalify as Irish solicitors by applying for a certificate of admission from the Law Society of Ireland.
Only Irish solicitors who are practising (or intending to practise) at least partly in Ireland from an establishment in Ireland are currently provided with Irish practising certificates.
All UK nationals have a right under the Common Travel Area to travel to and live in Ireland.
Solicitors may practise in Italy under home title. They can:
- advise clients on English law, public international law and EU law
- represent clients in informal arbitration (arbitrato irrituale) and conciliation
- represent clients in mediation, except for some specific matters provided by law – such as banking, finance and real estate disputes
They cannot:
- represent clients in courts
- represent clients in formal arbitration (arbitrato rituale)
Solicitors may practise in Latvia under their home title.
They can:
- provide consultancy services on English and Welsh law
- provide consultancy services on public international law
- obtain a licence from the Ministry of Justice to provide all legal services except representation in criminal proceedings (issuing of the licence requires knowledge of Latvian language)
Solicitors in Latvia are subject to the provisions of Latvian commercial law that regulate trade secrets.
UK solicitors can practise in the Netherlands under their home title. There is no requirement to register with the Dutch bar.
Solicitors can:
- practise the law of their home country
- practise public international law
- represent clients in arbitration, conciliation and mediation
- appear in court on matters of administrative law
- appear in court for claims under €25,000
Solicitors cannot:
- practise Dutch law
- appear in court without being assisted by a Dutch lawyer except for administrative law or claims under €25,000
Solicitors can provide legal services in English law and public international law under their home-country professional title in Poland.
Article 42 of the act on the provision by foreign lawyers of legal assistance in the Republic of Poland states that lawyers from outside the European Union are entitled to “representation in civil proceedings of a party being a national of or belonging to a state, in which the lawyer is authorised to practise the profession”.
This provision is “subject to reciprocity” and “unless the international agreements ratified by the Republic of Poland or the provisions of the international organisations the Republic of Poland is a member thereto provide otherwise”.
Portugal reserves the provision of legal services to members of the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Advogados).
There are two ways for non-EU nationals to register with the Portuguese bar:
- registration as a legal consultant of recognised merit, master and other doctorate in law
- foreign legal practice
To qualify as a legal consultant, legal practitioners must be law graduates with:
- at least 10 consecutive years of professional activity, and
- demonstrated knowledge and professional experience in the field of Portuguese domestic law or international law
Applicants must also complete an aptitude test. They may practice as legal consultants and advise on foreign and international law.
Alternatively, citizens of non-EU member states with a degree from a Portuguese higher education institution or a foreign higher academic degree in law recognised as equivalent may enrol with the Portuguese Bar Association so long as their country grants reciprocity.
They must conclude an 18-month apprenticeship and pass a bar examination.
Solicitors can practise under their home title in Romania. They can:
- advise clients on UK and international law
- advise clients on EU law
- represent clients in arbitration, reconciliation and mediation
They cannot appear in court.
If flying in and out of Romania regularly, they have to sign into the special register kept by each Romanian bar. They are required to submit official documents that attest to the existence and extent of the respective reciprocity.
They are subject to the provisions of Romanian law, the by-law of the Romanian legal profession and its code of conduct.
Solicitors can provide legal services in English law and public international law under their home-country professional title in Slovakia, subject to “actual reciprocity”.
Slovak domestic provisions implementing the TCA may also apply.
Authorisation to practise law in Slovenia is subject to passing an examination testing a lawyer’s knowledge of Slovenian law. Command of Slovenian language is also required.
Under the TCA, “a foreign lawyer who has the right to practise law in a foreign country may supply legal services or practise law [in Slovenia] under the conditions laid down in article 34a of the Attorneys Act , provided the condition of actual reciprocity is fulfilled.”
Article 34.a of the Attorneys Act refers to the following conditions:
- passing an examination testing the knowledge of the legal order of the Republic of Slovenia
- being “business active”
- having an active command of the Slovenian language
- being reliable for practising the legal profession
- disposing of equipment and premises required and suitable for practising the legal profession
Solicitors may practise in Spain under their home country title. They can:
- practise home country law
- practise public international law
- represent clients in arbitration, conciliation or mediation
- call themselves legal consultants
They cannot:
- practise EU law
- practise Spanish law
- use the title abogado
- appear in court
There is no monopoly of legal services in Sweden. Any person may practise law, both on a temporary and permanent basis.
Solicitors can:
- advise clients on UK law and public international law
- advise clients on EU law
- represent clients in arbitration, conciliation and mediation
They cannot use the title advokat as this is reserved for members of the Swedish Bar Association (Sveriges Advokatsamfund).
Rights of audience in Sweden are as follows:
- anyone may appear in the Adminstrative Court, representing themselves or another person
- in other courts, a person may only be appointed as legal representative (rättegångsombud) if they are deemed appropriate based on their integrity, knowledge and previous experience. They need to master the Swedish language. They normally need to reside in Sweden, in another EEA country or in Switzerland. However other individuals may also be appointed as legal representative if the court deems it appropriate. For individuals who are not EEA or Swiss residents, the courts will consider matters including whether they can be reached for service of process and that whether it is possible to enforce a decision on liability, litigation costs or private claims for damages
Disclaimer
While we have made every effort to provide accurate information, this guide does not constitute legal advice and cannot be relied upon as such.
The Law Society does not accept any responsibility for liabilities arising as a result of reliance upon the information given.