What We Do

Legal Advice and Representation

Asylum Justice is the only charity in Wales – and one of just two in the UK – providing free, independent legal advice and representation to asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants. 

We are regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) and provide expert legal services to those who fall outside the scope of legal aid, or who are otherwise unable to secure representation. In a legal system increasingly defined by complexity, hostility and inequality, our services are often the last and only source of help for people facing life-or-death situations. 

WHY OUR WORK MATTERS 

People come to us fleeing war, persecution, trafficking and abuse. Many are living in poverty, at risk of exploitation, or facing imminent return to unsafe countries. Without legal status, individuals are denied access to healthcare, housing, education and employment – basic rights that are critical to human dignity and security. 

Our legal support enables people to: 

• Access safety and stability through asylum and humanitarian protection. 
• Rebuild their lives through regularised immigration status. 
• Reunite with loved ones through family reunion applications. 
• Challenge unjust decisions and avoid wrongful removal or destitution. 

We prioritise the most at-risk individuals, including: 

• Survivors of trafficking and modern slavery 
• Victims of domestic abuse 
• Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children 
• People with serious mental or physical health conditions 

OUR LEGAL SERVICES 

We provide advice and representation across key areas of asylum and immigration law, including: 

• Initial asylum claims – Helping people present their case for protection. 
• Appeals – Lodging appeals and representing clients in hearings when claims are refused. 
• Fresh claims – Supporting people to submit new evidence where previous applications have failed. 
• Family reunion – Enabling refugees to bring their children and partners to safety. 
• Fee waivers and immigration applications – Assisting with applications that enable stability and security. 

This includes legal representation in areas that are no longer covered by legal aid. Without our support, these clients would be left without any path to safety or regular status. 

RESPONDING TO A BROKEN SYSTEM 

The demand for our services has never been higher. In the past five years, 60% of immigration and asylum law firms in Wales have closed, creating a legal aid desert. The result of this ‘effective collapse’ is a growing number of people denied access to justice with profound impacts on many people seeking sanctuary in or migrating to Wales, leading to human rights breaches, homelessness, loss of employment, poverty and exploitation. As a result, many clients arrive at our service in crisis – unrepresented, unsupported, and just days away from appeal deadlines and hearings that can decide their future. 

We fill this critical gap. We take on some of the hardest cases, and win many. Our appeal success rate is consistently well above the national average, demonstrating the quality and expertise we put behind every case, and the risk of miscarriages of justice without such support. 

BUILDING THE LEGAL SECTOR  

In addition to casework, we are investing in the future of immigration legal advice in Wales. Through in-house training to IAA Level 3, we are developing a new generation of skilled advisers. This long-term talent pipeline is essential to reversing the collapse of legal provision and ensuring people across Wales can access their rights. 

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP 

To extend our reach and impact, we work collaboratively with partners across Wales, including: 

• Wales Sanctuary Service – BAWSO, Displaced People in Action, EYST Wales, TGP Cymru and Welsh Refugee Council 
• Fresh Claims Project – Cardiff University School of Law & Politics Pro Bono Unit
• Justice Together Initiative – British Red Cross

These partnerships help us reach those in greatest need and ensure coordinated, holistic support. Legal representation should not be a privilege – we fight to ensure that no one is left to navigate the asylum and immigration system alone. 

Influencing for Justice

We believe the law should protect people, not punish them for seeking safety. 

Alongside providing free legal advice and representation, Asylum Justice works to challenge the systemic injustices that harm refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants in Wales and the UK. Our advocacy is grounded in the real life experiences of those we support and aims to address the root causes of exclusion, inequality, and harm in the asylum and immigration system. 

We: 

• Amplify lived experience – We centre the voices of people with direct experience of the asylum and immigration system to shape our advocacy and messaging. 
• Reflect the communities we serve – We are committed to meaningful inclusion at every level of our organisation. Our staff and board include people with lived experience of the asylum and immigration system, ensuring our work is guided by those directly affected. 
• Build partnerships – We collaborate with legal, human rights and grassroots organisations to strengthen collective calls for change both in Wales and at UK level and beyond (e.g. Sanctuary Coalition Cymru, United Against Inhumanity). 
• Engage decision-makers – We share insights from our frontline work with MPs, MSs and policymakers to influence change at UK and devolved levels. 
• Challenge injustice – We contribute to public consultations, raise concerns with oversight bodies, and support legal challenges that seek to uphold rights and expose discriminatory practice. 
• Raise awareness – We work through media, events, research and community outreach to shift public narratives and promote greater understanding of the realities facing people seeking sanctuary in Wales (e.g. Stand Up to Racism, Bevan Foundation). 

We are proud to be part of the Sanctuary Coalition Cymru and the Wales Nation of Sanctuary working group. Together, we are working for a Wales where people seeking safety are not only welcomed but empowered to rebuild their lives with dignity and opportunity. We believe in a society grounded in compassion, solidarity and justice, where barriers to inclusion are dismantled and the voices of refugees and migrants help shape the decisions that affect them.