Legal support and advice (in London)

This section contains information about where you can get legal help and advice if you are applying for asylum or you already have refugee status. The organisations we've listed vary in terms of what they can offer - some give advice over the telephone, some can help you find a good lawyer, and some simply have useful information that you can download from their websites. We've listed organisations that work across the UK, as well as those that work locally and in detention centres. If we've missed out an organisation that you've found useful please email us at info@testimonyproject.org and we will include it for you. 

 

This section is split into the following:

 

Legal advice services 

Detention advice services

 

Free confidential legal advice is provided for women by qualified barristers and solicitors on all areas of immigration and asylum law.

52-54 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT

Tel: 02072 516 575

Advice line: 02072 518 887 (Monday 11am-1pm and Tuesday 10am-12 noon)

Asylum Aid is an independent, national charity that provides advice and representation for asylum seekers. The Refugee Women’s Resource Project at Asylum Aid offers free legal advice and representation, welfare advice support and assistance to solicitors who represent women.

Asylum Aid, Club Union House, 253-254 Upper Street, London N1 1RY

Tel: 020 7354 9631 (general)     Fax: 020 7354 5620

Advice Line: 020 7354 9264 (Mon 2pm-4:30pm, Thurs 10am-12:30pm)

Provides free legal advice to organisations who are helping asylum seekers with their asylum support issues. However, the charity doesn’t give advice directly to asylum seekers.

Cornerstone House, 14 Willis Road, 18 Barclay Road, Croydon CR0 1JN

Tel: 02086 845 972 (Advice line open Monday 2 - 4 pm, Tuesday 10 am -12.30 pm and 2 - 4 pm, Wednesday 10 am - 12.30 pm, Thursday 2 - 4 pm)

Tel: 02086 845 873  (general)   Fax: 02086 845 973

Community Legal Advice (CLA) offers free confidential, independent legal advice over the phone, a list of solicitors that do legal aid work, and advice in  many different langauges including Urdu, Bengali, Cantonese, Punjabi and Gujarati. Some links may be out of date.

Tel: 08453 454 345

 

This service provides representation and advice in immigration and asylum law on a confidential basis. Subject to eligibility, these services are free and for others, a fee-paying (non profit) service is available. Check the website for eligibility criteria. There are two offices in London: a Central London Office and a Hounslow Office. People living in postcodes beginning with an E, N or SE should visit the Central London Office. People with postcodes beginning with S, SW or W should check the website to find out which office to visit.

Central London Office:

County House, 190 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4YB

Tel: 02079 671 200 (Advice line open Tuesday 10am-1pm)     Fax: 02073 780 665           

Hounslow Office:

Ebury Business Centre, Unit 3, 161-163 Staines Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 3JZ

Tel: 02086 076 570 (Advice line open Mon to Wed, 10am-12:45pm)     Fax: 02085 770 090

Email: advice@iasuk.org

This association aims to improve the representation of immigrants and to provide information on immigration, refugee and nationality law.

Lindsay House, 40-42, Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6JN

Tel: 02072 518 383     Fax: 02072 518 384

Email:
info@ilpa.org.uk

 

MRC has a legal advice team which provides a range of free advice and representation services and support on immigration, housing welfare benefits and employment depending on eligibility. Check the website  for eligibility criteria. Drop-in advice is available on Mon and Thurs from 10 am to noon.

Derry House, Penfold Street, London, NW8 8HJ

Tel: 08452 410 961 (Tuesdays and Fridays , 10am-12pm)

Refugee and Migrant Justice provides advice if you have claimed asylum. This includes assisting in the preparation of asylum interviews with the Home Office or Immigration Service, and help with completing applications to the Home Office. The centre also provides representation to those appealing a Home Office Decision. Its services are free if you don’t have the means to pay for legal representation. Drop-in advice clinics are available on Mon/Wed/Fri from 9:30 am to 1 pm.

Nelson House, 153-157 Commercial Road, London, E1 2DA

Tel: 02077 803 200 (Mon/Wed/Fri 10am-4:30pm, closed 1-2pm)

 

This group is a non-political and non-religious registered charity that befriends and supports asylum seekers detained primarily at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Removal Centres. Visitors act as the crucial link to the outside world for detainees with severely limited access to telephone cards. Visitors act to liaise with service providers (eg. solicitors, bail organisations) and empower detainees to make choices about the services available to them.

Unit 3R, Leroy House, 436 Essex Road, London, N1 3QP

Tel: 02072 263 114     Fax: 02072 263 016

Tel: 08005 872 096 (freephone for clients)

The DAS provide free of charge support and information for those detained or threatened with detention. They regularly visit prisons in and around London and offer an in-depth casework service. They liaise with solicitors, friends, family and other agencies involved in your case.  For detainees at sites they do not visit, they can help via the post or telephone. If you need to find a legal representation, DAS can also refer you to a solicitor. Clients can contact DAS directly via phone during opening hours Monday to Friday from 9.30 am -5.30 pm.

Unit B3, 62 Beechwood Road, London E8 3DY

Tel: 02072 546 888     Fax: 02072 548 555

 

Bail for immigration detainees is an independent charity that works with asylum seekers and migrants, in removal centres and prisons, to secure their release from detention. If you’re detained at any of the UK removal centres or detained by the UK immigration service in prison, you can contact the BID offices by phone, letter or fax. BID only works with those detained by the UK Immigration Service to advise on bail and release from detention.

BID London (general enquiries)

Tel: 02072 473 590     Fax: 02072 473 550

BID South (for Colnbrook, Dover and Haslar detainees)

Tel: 02392 587 567     Fax: 02392 587 666

Tel: 0845 3304 536     Fax: 0845 3304 537

 

NCADC is a voluntary organisation providing practical advice on anti-deportation campaigning. They provide objective and confidential advice on all pros and cons, assist in designing leaflets, organise the first meetings, and write letters and petitions. If someone decides to campaign against deportation they can join NCADC by contacting a nationwide co-ordinator, preferable via email using the address below. Clients can contact the service directly during opening hours Monday to Friday, 8 am to 2.30 pm.

NCADC, 110 Hamstead Road, Birmingham, B20 2QS

Tel: 01215 546 947

Email: ncadc@ncadc.org.uk