SQE for Canadian lawyers

SQE for Canadian lawyers and law graduates

A lawyer admitted in any Canadian province or territory qualifies as a solicitor of England and Wales by passing SQE1, then passing SQE2 or being exempted from it. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has no agreed exemption for any province: you apply for the SQE2 exemption individually, and the experience it asks for depends on where you were admitted. Only SQE1 can be sat in Canada.

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Canada and the route to England and Wales, where every SQE2 oral assessment is held.

13: provinces and territories listed one by one in the SRA’s exemption finder. None has an agreed exemption
12 to 24: months of experience the SRA asks a Canadian lawyer to show for an SQE2 exemption, depending on the province
1: Canadian city on the SQE list, Toronto, and for SQE1 only. SQE2 written is not offered in Canada
35: the oldest a Canadian can be when applying for a UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa (GOV.UK)

In short

Can a Canadian lawyer become an English solicitor?

Facts checked against the regulators’ own pages. Last updated 12 November 2026.

Yes. You need a degree, a pass in SQE1, a pass in or exemption from SQE2, and to meet the SRA’s character and suitability rules. As a qualified lawyer you do not need two years of qualifying work experience.
No province or territory has an agreed exemption. All 13 carry the same status in the SRA’s finder: "You can apply for an individual SQE2 exemption".
What changes by province is the experience your reference must show: 24 months in total for Ontario and Alberta, counting experiential training or articling; 18 months after qualifying for Quebec; 15 months for British Columbia; 12 months everywhere else.
SQE1 has to be sat. The SRA says SQE1 exemptions are "very rare", that it has granted one since 2021, and that a legal system based on English law is not enough on its own.
Toronto is on the SRA’s list of cities for SQE1. The SQE2 written papers are not offered in Canada, and the SQE2 oral assessments are held only in England and Wales, so a Canadian who sits SQE2 travels for both parts.
A law graduate who is not yet licensed in Canada is not a qualified lawyer in the SRA’s terms. There is no exemption to apply for, and two years of qualifying work experience is required.

Exemptions

SQE2 exemption for Canadian lawyers, province by province

From the SRA’s exemption finder, last updated 24 September 2026. The status is the same in every row: an individual application. The experience the reference has to show is not.

Bay Street in Toronto’s financial district, looking towards the Old City Hall clock tower — Bay Street looking towards Old City Hall, Toronto.Photo: mark.watmough · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped/resized for layout, with light brightness, colour and sharpness adjustments; WebP export.

SQE2 exemption for Canadian lawyers by province and territory (SRA exemption finder, read 12 November 2026)

Where you are admitted	Title in the SRA finder	SQE2 status	What your reference must show
Ontario	Barrister and Solicitor	Individual application	Experience after qualifying which, added to your mandatory experiential training, totals 24 months. No reference is needed for the experiential training itself.
Alberta	Barrister and Solicitor	Individual application	Experience after qualifying which, added to your articling, totals 24 months. No reference is needed for the articling period.
Quebec	Avocat	Individual application	At least 18 months of legal work after qualifying.
British Columbia	Barrister and Solicitor	Individual application	At least 15 months of legal work after qualifying.
Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan	Barrister and Solicitor	Individual application	At least 12 months of legal work after qualifying.
Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon	Barrister and Solicitor	Individual application	At least 12 months of legal work after qualifying.

Every Canadian application needs three things: proof of your qualification, the reference, and proof of your referee’s own qualification. The fee is £265, and the SRA decides within 180 days of a complete application, sometimes longer. Source: SRA, SQE exemptions.

Ontario and Alberta are a total, not a period after admissionThe longer your experiential training or articling was, the less post-qualification time you need to reach 24 months.
Individual means assessed on your own evidenceFor a Canadian lawyer that means showing rights to practise in one or more of the five SQE2 practice areas (criminal litigation, civil litigation, property, wills and probate, business organisations), work across the SQE2 skills, and newly qualified solicitor standard. The reference should describe the work, not only the dates. The checklist is on the SRA’s SQE2 exemption page.
Apply before you book SQE2Once you have sat SQE2, or failed it, an exemption from it is no longer available. You can sit SQE1 while the decision is pending.
SQE1 is not exemptedThe SRA says there are "significant differences" between English and Welsh law and the law of every jurisdiction it has reviewed, and it has granted one SQE1 exemption since 2021. Source: SRA, applying for an SQE1 exemption.

Before you fill in the SRA form, read our step by step SQE exemption application guide, and check each Canadian province against the exemption finder by jurisdiction.

Logistics

Toronto for SQE1, England or Wales for SQE2

The SRA’s city list is "illustrative only and may change". The cities for a sitting are confirmed when booking opens.

Where each SQE assessment can be sat from Canada

Assessment	In Canada	Otherwise
SQE1 (FLK1 and FLK2)	Toronto is on the list of cities the SRA’s provider aims to include. No other Canadian city is listed.	New York is listed for SQE1 too. Any UK centre also works.
SQE2 written (three days)	Not offered in Canada or the United States.	A Pearson VUE centre in the UK or another listed country.
SQE2 oral (two consecutive days)	Not offered outside England and Wales.	London, Cardiff, Manchester or Birmingham.

SQE1 from outside Ontario. FLK1 and FLK2 fall in consecutive weeks. Each paper is offered on five consecutive days and you choose one day in each week, subject to seats, so a candidate flying to Toronto can ask for days close together. For January 2027 the dates are 11 to 15 January for FLK1 and 18 to 22 January for FLK2, and booking closes on 23 November 2026.
SQE2 is one trip for both parts. Written and oral papers fall inside one booking window of roughly two to three weeks, so a Canadian candidate plans a single stay. For January 2027 the oral days are 26 to 27 or 28 to 29 January and the written days are 2 to 4 February.
Deadlines are in UK time, and start times vary at international centres. Check the reporting time on your booking confirmation.
If Toronto is not available for your sitting, the SQE site’s advice is to consider a neighbouring country or city.

A lawyer who holds the SQE2 exemption has only SQE1 left, and can complete it without leaving Canada when Toronto is offered for the sitting. Dates for every sitting are on our SQE1 and SQE2 exam dates page. Read from the SRA’s SQE assessment locations, SQE1 and SQE2 written locations and SQE booking windows.

Entry to the UK for the exam trip depends on your nationality: some visitors need a Standard Visitor visa, some an electronic travel authorisation, some neither. Sitting an exam is one of the activities GOV.UK allows a Standard Visitor; the SQE itself is not named in the Immigration Rules. Check the Standard Visitor page on GOV.UK for your own passport before you book. The rules every overseas candidate shares are on sitting the SQE from outside the UK.

Not yet licensed

Canadian law graduates who are not yet licensed

The SRA’s exemptions are "only available to qualified lawyers", and you must already be admitted in the jurisdiction you rely on. A law degree on its own does not count.

Two orders for a Canadian law graduate: qualify in Canada first, or go straight to the SQE

Requirement	Qualify in Canada first	Go straight to the SQE
SQE1	Sat.	Sat.
SQE2	An individual exemption is possible once you have the experience your province’s entry asks for.	Sat in full. Neither the written nor the oral part can be taken in Canada.
Work experience	No qualifying work experience is needed.	Two years of qualifying work experience, full time or the equivalent.
Who signs it off	A referee for the exemption application, with proof of the referee’s own qualification.	A solicitor of England and Wales, or a compliance officer for legal practice. A Canadian lawyer who is not also an English solicitor cannot confirm it.
What to watch	The SRA can take 180 days to decide the exemption.	A failed SQE2 attempt has to be retaken and passed. A Canadian licence gained later will not exempt you from it.

The SRA says qualifying work experience "can be gained in England or Wales or overseas, and it does not need to cover English and Welsh law". It can be paid or voluntary, in up to four organisations, before, during or after the exams. On that rule, legal work done in Canada, articling included, can be put forward if it meets the SRA’s definition. The hard part is the confirmation, because someone holding the English title has to give it. Read QWE confirmation for overseas work and who can confirm QWE, or run your experience through the QWE checker. Source: SRA, qualifying work experience.

Your degree does not have to be in law. A Canadian degree is checked against UK level 6 through mySRA by the SRA’s provider, Atlantic Data, for £54.84, and the check can be done at any time before admission. You do not need the degree to sit SQE1 or SQE2. Source: SRA, checking your qualification.

Working in the UK

Moving to London: the Youth Mobility Scheme and the title

Being admitted as a solicitor is not permission to live or work in the UK. Immigration is a separate question. One route GOV.UK opens to Canadian nationals aged 18 to 35 is the Youth Mobility Scheme.

Young professionals crossing a street in the City of London

UK Youth Mobility Scheme visa for Canadian nationals (GOV.UK, read 12 November 2026)

Rule	What GOV.UK says
Age	18 to 35 when you apply. You can be over 35 when the visa starts.
Length	Up to 2 years. Canadian nationals can extend once, by one year, applying from inside the UK in the last 28 days of the visa. Three years at most.
Work and study	You can "work in most jobs" and study. Self-employment is allowed within limits.
Once only	You cannot apply if you have already been in the UK under the scheme.
Children	You cannot apply if you have children under 18 who live with you or whom you support financially. Family members cannot be added to the application.
Money	£2,530 in savings held for 28 days, a £340 application fee, and a healthcare surcharge of usually £776 a year.

Fitting the SQE into two or three years

SQE1 runs twice a year, in January and July. Results come about five to six weeks after the sitting.
An exemption decision can take 180 days. The SRA lets you sit SQE1 while it is pending, so the two can run side by side.
You do not have to wait until you land. The SRA’s admission criteria contain no UK residence condition, and Toronto is on the list for SQE1.

What you can do in London without the title

The SRA’s guidance says a foreign lawyer who is an employee of an authorised firm, works in-house or works in a foreign law firm, and does not carry out reserved legal activities, does not need to register with it. Registered Foreign Lawyer status is for foreign lawyers who become managers or owners of an English firm. What the solicitor title adds is the reserved work: conducting litigation, rights of audience, reserved instrument and probate activities, and administering oaths. For a transactional lawyer in an international firm, requalifying is a choice, not a requirement. Sources: SRA, registered foreign lawyers and Law Society of England and Wales, an open jurisdiction.

The title is a qualification for practice in England and Wales, regulated by the SRA. This page does not cover how a Canadian law society treats it: ask the regulator of your own province or territory.

Costs

What the SQE costs a Canadian lawyer, in Canadian dollars

Fees are set in pounds and are the same in Toronto as in London. A lawyer with the SQE2 exemption pays the SQE1 fee and the SRA’s £265 exemption fee, and never the SQE2 fee. If you sit SQE2, add flights and a stay in England or Wales.

In pounds, with Canadian dollarsCAD

Paid to the SRA, the same wherever you sit

SQE1 assessment feeFLK1 and FLK2, paid to the SRA’s assessment provider when you book£2,006C$3,790
SQE2 assessment feeWritten and oral, paid when you book SQE2£3,086C$5,830
Both assessments£5,092C$9,620

Preparing with FQPS

FQPS SQE1 RevisionA month, no minimum term, cancel anytime£79C$149
FQPS SQE2 PreparationA month, includes 6 live 1:1 mocks with a solicitor£189C$357

SRA fees are for assessments from September 2026. FQPS prices include VAT. CAD figures are a guide at the European Central Bank rate of 12 November 2026: you pay in pounds, and your card provider sets the final rate.

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Preparing with FQPS

Preparing for SQE1 from Canada

Treat SQE1 as new law to learn. In the SQE annual report for 2024/25, 45% of qualified lawyers passed SQE1 against 54% of candidates who were not qualified lawyers. The figure covers lawyers from every jurisdiction, not Canadians in particular, but it is a warning against assuming a head start.

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Know what each paper covers

SQE1 is two papers, FLK1 and FLK2, each with its own fixed set of subjects in English and Welsh law. Read the subject lists before you plan your months.

What FLK1 covers

SQE2 practice before the trip

If you are sitting SQE2, the SQE2 plans include live 1:1 mocks with a qualified solicitor, covering the oral and the written stations, with written feedback.

The SQE2 course

The January 2027 format

From January 2027 each SQE1 paper is 170 questions in two sessions of 85. The free FLK1 and FLK2 mocks on sign-up are in that format.

The SQE 2027 changes

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Who studies with us

A UK course with students well beyond the UK

FQPS is online from the first revision card to the last mock, so where you live changes your time zone and nothing else.

29: countries our paying students’ cards were issued in, in the 12 months to November 2026
44%: of those students paid with a card issued outside the UK

Lit: the UK and 14 of the other countries, among them France, United States, Singapore, Germany, South Korea, Türkiye.

Honestly, it is value for money.

Yosheel Bala BangarooCanada, read the review on Trustpilot

Seven months of prep was plenty, and audiobooks made studying actually enjoyable.

ClemenceNetherlands, read the review on Trustpilot

I received my results a few weeks ago and am thrilled to share that I passed!

MarceauxMalaysia, read the review on Trustpilot

These are three of our reviews, chosen because the reviewers are outside the UK. Read every FQPS review on Trustpilot, good and bad. Country counts are from our payment records on 12 November 2026.

An honest view

When the SQE is not worth it for a Canadian lawyer

We would rather you chose the right route than our course.

You work in London on Canadian or international matters, or on English-law work that is not a reserved activity. You can do that under your Canadian title, and the solicitor title would change little.
You were counting on a common law training to exempt you from SQE1. It will not: plan for both papers.
You are short of your province’s experience figure and cannot travel. Without the exemption, SQE2 means three written days and two oral days outside Canada, in one assessment window.
You want to "try" SQE2 before asking for the exemption. A failed attempt has to be retaken and passed, and the exemption is gone for that assessment.
Your plan rests on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa and you will be over 35 when you apply, have children under 18 who live with you or whom you support, or have used the scheme before. GOV.UK says you cannot apply.
You expect the English title to widen what you can do in Canada. It is a qualification for England and Wales. What a Canadian law society makes of it is for that law society to say.

Questions

Canadian lawyers and the SQE: common questions

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Can I take the SQE exam in Canada?

SQE1 only. Toronto is on the SRA’s list of cities it aims to include for SQE1, and the list is confirmed for each sitting when booking opens. The SQE2 written assessments are not offered in Canada, and the SQE2 oral assessments are held only in London, Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham.

Is there an SQE2 exam centre in Canada?

No. The SQE site says the SQE2 written assessments are not offered in Canada or the United States, and the oral assessments are held only in England and Wales. The two parts must be taken in the same assessment window, so a Canadian candidate normally sits both on one trip.

Are Canadian lawyers exempt from the SQE?

Not automatically. No Canadian province or territory has an agreed exemption. A Canadian lawyer sits SQE1 and can apply to the SRA for an individual SQE2 exemption, with a reference showing the experience set for the province of admission. The application fee is £265.

How much experience does an Ontario lawyer need for the SQE2 exemption?

Experience after qualifying which, added to the mandatory experiential training, totals 24 months. Alberta has the same 24-month total, counting articling. Quebec needs 18 months after qualifying, British Columbia 15 months, and every other province and territory 12 months.

Does articling count towards the SQE2 exemption?

For Alberta, yes: the SRA counts articling towards a 24-month total and asks for no reference for that period. Ontario’s mandatory experiential training is counted the same way. For the other provinces and territories the SRA’s finder asks only for experience after qualification: 15 months in British Columbia, 18 in Quebec and 12 elsewhere.

Do Canadian lawyers need qualifying work experience?

No. The SRA says qualified lawyers do not need two years of qualifying work experience. A Canadian law graduate who has not been admitted anywhere is not a qualified lawyer and does need it.

Can a Canadian law graduate take the SQE without being called to the bar?

Yes. A degree is not needed to sit SQE1 or SQE2, only for admission. Without a Canadian licence there is no exemption to apply for, so the graduate passes SQE1 and SQE2 and completes two years of qualifying work experience, which can be gained in Canada but must be confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or a compliance officer for legal practice.

Can Canadians use the Youth Mobility Scheme to work in London?

GOV.UK says Canadian nationals aged 18 to 35 can apply for a Youth Mobility Scheme visa, which lasts up to two years, can be extended once by a year, and allows work in most jobs and study. It can be used once, and not by someone with children under 18 who live with them or whom they support. GOV.UK does not mention lawyers or the SQE, so check the guide yourself before relying on it.

How much does the SQE cost in Canadian dollars?

The fees are set in pounds: £2,006 for SQE1 and £3,086 for SQE2, for assessments from September 2026, and they are the same in Toronto as in the UK. The Canadian dollar amount depends on the exchange rate your card provider applies on the day you pay. An exemption application costs £265.

Other routes to the English title

SQE for US attorneysOne rule for all 50 states: SQE1 is sat, and SQE2 can be waived with two years of practice.

SQE for Australian and New Zealand lawyersAustralian solicitors with an unrestricted practising certificate have an agreed SQE2 exemption. New Zealand lawyers apply individually.SQE for international studentsStudying in the UK on a visa: the Graduate visa against two years of QWE, non-law degrees, and finishing from home.All 15 international guidesWhere you can sit, what has to be done in the UK, and a guide for each country.

Sources for this page (25)

Each source was read on or before 12 November 2026. Rules change: check the regulator's own page before you act on anything here. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice. FQPS Academy is an independent SQE preparation provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or Kaplan. The SQE and SOLICITORS QUALIFYING EXAMINATION trade marks are the property of and are used under licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.