Legal Aid — free lawyer for asylum seekers

Legal Aid is a government scheme that pays for legal help. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the government pays for one.

For asylum seekers this is automatic:

✓ Asylum cases — in scope for Legal Aid
✓ Means test — not required for asylum
✓ Your lawyer applies for you — you do not fill in any forms yourself
✓ Covers every stage: from the first appointment to the appeal

What Legal Aid covers:

✓ First appointment and case assessment
✓ Preparing and submitting your asylum claim
✓ Representation at your interview
✓ Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal
✓ Appeal to the Upper Tribunal
✓ Judicial Review
✓ Fresh claim (Further Submissions, Para 353) — new evidence after ARE

You do not apply for Legal Aid yourself. You find a lawyer, and they apply for you. Here is how it works:

Who runs it: the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), part of the Ministry of Justice. The law: LASPO Act 2012.

Who is eligible:

✓ Asylum seekers — automatically, without a means test
✓ Humanitarian protection
✓ Victims of trafficking / modern slavery
✓ Victims of domestic violence
✓ Unaccompanied children (UASC)
✓ Detention — urgent help
✓ Cases under Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR

Means test:

If you get support from the Home Office (Section 95/98 NASS), you automatically pass the means test. For everyone else: income no more than £2,657/month and savings no more than £3,000.

In practice: solicitors ask for a Section 95 award letter no older than 6 months. If yours is older, request a fresh confirmation of support via Migrant Help (0808 801 0503) before your appointment.

What Legal Aid does NOT cover:

✗ Ordinary immigration cases (work visas, family visas)
✗ Deportation cases — except those with an asylum claim
✗ Immigration advice without an asylum claim

How to find a lawyer:

GOV.UK has a search tool for lawyers with a Legal Aid contract. Or use our directory — lawyers with Legal Aid are marked.

Who runs it: the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Scotland has its own Legal Aid system — broader than in England. LASPO does not apply here.

Types of assistance:

Advice and Assistance — free consultation and help with documents
ABWOR (Assistance By Way of Representation) — representation in tribunal
Civil Legal Aid — full representation in court and Judicial Review (Court of Session)

For asylum seekers:

✓ Asylum and immigration cases are covered by Legal Aid
✓ If you get asylum support, you automatically pass the means test
✓ You do not need to be a UK citizen — Legal Aid is open to everyone
✓ Available even with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
✓ Your lawyer applies through SLAB

Organisations that can help:

• Scottish Refugee Council — help finding a lawyer
• Positive Action in Housing — housing and legal help
• Legal Services Agency (Glasgow) — free lawyers

Who runs it: the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland (LSANI), part of the Department of Justice NI. LASPO does not apply here — Northern Ireland has its own rules.

For asylum seekers:

✓ Asylum and immigration cases are covered by Legal Aid
✓ Means test — based on your income in the last 7 days before you apply
✓ If you get NASS support, you usually pass (the Home Office has already confirmed you are destitute)
✓ Covers First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, Judicial Review
✓ Victims of trafficking / modern slavery — covered

How to get it:

Find a solicitor in Northern Ireland who does immigration/asylum Legal Aid. Your solicitor applies to LSANI for you.

Organisations:

• Law Centre NI — free legal advice, tel: (028) 9024 4401
• Bryson Intercultural — help for refugees
• STEP NI — support for asylum seekers

LSANI contact: tel. 028 9040 8888, email: enquiries@lsani.gov.uk

A refusal is not the end. There are several options:

• ASAP (Asylum Support Appeals Project) — help with appeals
• Refugee Legal Centre — free lawyers
• Refugee Action — help finding a lawyer
• Asylum Aid — legal help for asylum seekers
• Migrants' Law Project — pro bono lawyers
• Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA) — referrals to lawyers

Pro bono lawyers: some lawyers and barristers work for free (pro bono) for people who have been refused Legal Aid. Ask the organisations above.