Finding immigration advice

As a service we do not provide immigration advice to children, young people and families. Instead, we work with legal firms and other charities who do deliver immigration advice to support children, young people and families. We then focus on welfare rights and wider holistic support.

When we have an open case for a family for their welfare rights or broader support, we will help find representation, or apply for exceptional case funding so someone can use a legal aid funded solicitor. However, you will always speak to an immigration advisor to get initial advice, that we will help find for you.

If your only need is your immigration, we may not open a case, but instead point you in the direction of other services who can help. We recognise that finding immigration advice can be difficult. So we have compiled a quick guide to getting advice, and places that you can try for advice.

This guide is not exhaustive and does not include every organisation. It is accurate to when it was last updated.

General

You can use the IAA advice finder to find an immigration advisor near you, this will include services that are free, and services who charge. https://portal.immigrationadviceauthority.gov.uk/s/adviser-finder.

Law Centre network – Many law centres offer immigration advice. You can find your local law centre using this search https://www.lawcentres.org.uk/get-help.

Finding initial advice

Community based advice – London

Hackney Migrant Centre – https://hackneymigrantcentre.org.uk

Haringey Migrant Support Centre – https://haringeymsc.org

Praxis – https://www.praxis.org.uk/get-help

Cardinal Hume Centre – https://www.cardinalhumecentre.org.uk/help-and-support/immigration-advice

South London Refugee Association – https://www.slr-a.org.uk/our-services/adults-and-families/casework/

RAMFEL – https://www.ramfel.org.uk/index.html (they also offer at time of writing a low cost service for those on a low income, as well as free immigration advice for those eligible)

Community based advice – Oxford

Asylum Welcome – https://www.asylum-welcome.org/help/

Community based advice – Manchester

Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit – https://gmiau.org

Helplines

JCWI irregular migrants helpline – https://jcwi.org.uk/how-can-we-help/our-helplines/

Rights of Women – https://www.rightsofwomen.org.uk/get-advice/immigration-and-asylum-law/

Advice for EU citizens and Ukrainians

AIRE Centre – https://www.airecentre.org (EUSS only)

Settled – https://settled.org.uk (EUSS and Ukrainian scheme)

Finding an advisor – Legal aid

We recognise that many find finding a legal aid advisor difficult. Legal Aid may be available for some cases. We can support people to access legal aid, if they are struggling to.

Many immigration cases are not eligible for legal aid. And the initial advice you receive should help you understand what your options are. You can get legal aid for asylum. For some cases, you may be able to get Exceptional Case Funding which helps pay for a solicitor. We can help people apply for that.

In our experience, you may have to make many enquiries before you find a firm that has the capacity to take on a case.

You can use this link to search for a legal aid provider near you https://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk

You can access a spreadsheet of all providers here. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers

Change of conditions (NRPF)

For advice about change of conditions for people with NRPF the Unity Project can accept requests for help. https://unity-project.org.uk. They also have a wealth of resources to help people understand their situation and rights in this area.