Enquire now
Speak directly to a lawyer

Legal Aid Services

The Immigration Advice Service conducts both private and publicly funded work. We are an approved legal aid service provider and have been awarded the Legal Aid Agency Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) for our work as a Legal Aid immigration solicitors.

Whilst under the new rules (April 2013) there has been a reduction in the types of immigration and asylum cases eligible for Legal Aid. As a general rule, the following matters will qualify for some advice, assistance and/or representation:

Detention & bail cases
Applications for leave to remain under the domestic violence rule
Applications for leave by those identified as victims of trafficking
Proceedings before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, ie; deportation and deprivation of citizenship cases where information is to be kept confidential for reasons of national security
Many asylum cases & appeals
Applications for leave to remain or settlement as a refugee with humanitarian protection/discretionary leave under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, ie; freedom from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment
Some judicial review applications, in limited circumstances.

In addition to falling into an eligible category, you will also have to satisfy the means and merits tests to qualify for Legal Aid for immigration. The merits test looks at whether, on the balance of probabilities, your application will succeed. The means test examines whether you satisfy the financial criteria.

Unfortunately, most mainstream non-asylum immigration cases are no longer eligible for Legal Aid, including entry clearance visas eg, for a spouse/partner or family member, or applications made under Article 8 of the ECHR (right to a family or private life), except where you qualify for exceptional case funding.

If you are unsure whether you qualify for publicly funded immigration assistance then contact us here at IAS to find out more or speak to one of our Legal Aid immigration solicitors. Even if you are not eligible for Legal Aid our specialist immigration lawyers can advise, assist and represent you at very competitive rates.

Enquire now
Speak directly to a lawyer

Related Links

Latest News

Useful Links

Customer Reviews

What our clients say about us

4.65 Average

258 Reviews

Anonymous

Superb service - Natalie Dolan is a legend!

Posted 2 months ago

Ralph M

From the very first contact, the advice given was helpful and the ensuing meetings were prompt and professionally carried out by our advisor Miss Kirsty Hindes. She was working under a tight time frame yet managed to get everything done within that frame. We are very grateful for her support and will be using her again I hope when the next application time comes round in 30 months time.

Posted 2 months ago

Mark

Thanks for helping me sort my wife's Spouse Visa. You made the process very stress free and always found the time to answer my emails & phone calls. I will be using IAS again when I have to reapply in a couple of years time.

Posted 2 months ago

Anonymous

Answered all my questions promptly and I'm going to attempt applying for the Visa myself. I'll definitely use IAS if I get stuck.

Posted 2 months ago

Senad

IAS, with their dedicated team of lawyers and counselors, managed to help me join my partner in UK. I had no experience, noone to ask for guidance nor to help me in the process of applying for a Dependant Visa in UK. IAS lawyers dedicated their time and put an effort in guiding me through every step of the, somewhat, complicated process, and they put an emphasis on special circumstances, considering the fact that I am coming from a "third world" country, which was complicated enough. After couple of months I was granted the Dependant Visa to join my partner who started working in UK six months before I applied, thus enabling us to be together again. I heartly recommend IAS to everyone that is lost in the process of applying for Visa, feeling helpless in the number of mixed and unclear regulations or needs someone to relly on during the process of applying for visa. IAS team, and lawyer Uche in my case, are not just an advice service agency - they are the beacon in the darkness of regulations and uncertainties. Thank you, for joining me with my life partner again...

Posted 3 months ago

Mursaleen

Saimah dealt my case in a fast and sufficient manner. She understood my concerns and didn't delay with documents that that were needed. She made the process easy and helped me beyond her duty. Due to her attentiveness my spouse was granted a visa and I can't thank Saimah enough. I would definitely recommend Saimah for spouse visa applications as she made the process very easy and efficient. Many thanks, again.

Posted 4 months ago

abiodun

I was so overwhelmed with the outcome of immigration issue, I have moved from one solicitor to another but when I consulted IAS and Saimah Razzaq advised me on my immigration issue and the proper next step to take I knew I was at the right place and everything came out successfully. Thank you so much. IAS 'Best immigration advisory to consult when you are confused'

Posted 4 months ago

Trifon

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Immigration Advice Service (IAS) and to Ms Agnes Tunde in particular. I needed assistance with the application for permanent residence, which is 100 pages in length. I’ve received the necessary guidance from Ms Tunde throughout the whole process of applying. She was extremely helpful, answered all of my questions regarding the application and always responded to me when I contacted her. I will recommend Ms Tunde and IAS, because of the professionalism and expertise that she used to assist me and will definitely recommend their services. Trifon

Posted 4 months ago

Melissa

Knowledgeable, experienced and very professional lawyers that are very organised when it comes to the important days. Very contactable, I don't think there was ever a time that I couldn't get through to my designated lawyer. To top it all off, our case was won in the end.

Posted 4 months ago

Ezenogha

I hired the services of IAS due to the complicated nature of my case. I was in the UK for 7 years as a student and voluntary returned when my visa was refused and all appeals right was exhausted. On getting engaged to my fiancé, we both agreed to use professional help to apply for the visa. After checking reviews online, we agreed to contact IAS and we were not disappointed. We were assigned to Agnes Idowu-Taylor as our immigration adviser. She contacted is immediately to better understand our situation and provided vital information on the entire process. Agnes sent us a checklist which we adhered to as we gathered the required documents. After marriage in December 17 2016 and completion of honeymoon, my wife returned to London with all the documents while Agnes structured her cover letter whilst giving guidance on our personal letters. We completed the online application on the 6/01/17 and I did my biometric on the 13/01/17. Our documents were returned on the 20/01/17, received TLS email on the 24/02/17. Though perplexed and worried why the documents were quickly returned, Agnes continued to encourage us that my application will be successful and so it was. I collected my visa on the 27/02/17. WE DID NOT PAY FOR PRIORITY SERVICE. Buying my ticket this week to join my darling wife. I definitely recommend IAS to everybody and specifically Agnes Idowu-Taylor. Thank you so much Agnes.

Posted 4 months ago

liam

A big thank you to IAS! They helped my wife get her naturalization and uk passport. Needed help as we applied for Residency Card ourselves and it was very confusing. We made a lot of mistakes and it took a long time. The lawyer made it clear what we had to do - no more rejections and time wasted. Thank you.

Posted 6 months ago

Mrs Marjoure N

Will definitely recommend IAS. I have used them twice and they did not disappoint at all. They are the best and will get your case sorted out in no time. Thank you Dee for your hard working - you are awesome :) M.N.

Posted 7 months ago

Maidei L

IAS always attended to my concerns promptly and the solicitor we were dealing with , Clare, was very helpful.

Posted 7 months ago

Akram

If you are looking for a lawyer who will work hard for your case, deal with you as a friend, be always there when you need him, support you in your difficult times as a relative, then go to Immigration Advice Service in Manchester and ask for Richard Bednarek. He is a star!

Posted 7 months ago

Mohammed

i want see thank you for lower MR Riched and another lower in office Miss Abe thank you so much MR Riched

Posted 7 months ago

Gerezgiher

This gave me very important and facts based advice .I would say to keep as you are on the right track.

Posted 7 months ago

Nikhil

A service we will never forget. Exceptional. We were due for a Premium Service appointment on a Monday, assuming we were prepared for what was to come. We had printed out all our documents, had everything ready, and didn't think twice about seeking further advice for our application. It was a tweak in the gut that drove us to contact IAS. You can never really be too sure when it comes to such applications, and we wanted that extra assurance from what we could only assume was a professional entity. And we were certainly not disappointed. From the get go, a gentleman named Peter paved the way for a successful outcome. We were fortunate that somebody cancelled a telephone appointment (telephone appointments are ever so convenient for a last minute consultation) and Peter kindly offered me the slot. I had gone out for a stroll and had not carried a payment card to purchase the slot in the moment, however Peter ever so generously held my slot for me until the next day when I was able to complete the transaction over the phone. And that was when the miracle worker came to our aid and she went by the name Danielle Blake. She went through our entire application with us from start to finish, responding to the silliest questions and she handled the process with a sense of calm and purpose. Her tone was assertive, but friendly, and we placed a great deal of confidence in the advice that she was offering. She addressed some key concerns, and when things were looking bleak, she went beyond her mandate to find a solution. And boy did she pull off a masterstroke. We would like to extend a special thank you to Danielle and Peter for their outstanding service, for their patience and care and for finding a way when most would have given up. Highly recommend using the IAS for its reliability and excellent customer service.

Posted 7 months ago

Grace

Natalie is always respons my question quickly and patientky whenever I asked . Sometimes even out of her working time.

Posted 8 months ago

Bashav

Actually it was a very good service, and the full staff were helpful especially my solicitor Mr. George, and I would like to thank him to making my case successful. Many Thanks

Posted 8 months ago

mike

Without the Immigration Advice Service's help, I would never have been able to stay in the UK. I booked an appointment over the phone and received a confirmation email of the appointment and the details of my specialist Immigration Solicitor within a couple of hours. Thank you IAS

Posted 9 months ago

Ross F

Daniella Blake was professional , supportive and importantly very knowledgable on the immigration laws etc, and made a significant contributon to securing indefinite leave in the UK for my wife and stepson.

Posted 9 months ago