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Community Legal Service (CLS)- Civil areas of work
- Immigration and asylum
- Processing immigration applications
Processing immigration applications
The National Immigration & Asylum Team (NIAT)
NIAT works closely with the Immigration Policy Team.
- Its role involves the day-to-day processes when considering applications for legal aid in immigration and asylum cases.
- LSC caseworkers and solicitors work to process funding for applicants who pass the merits and means tests. Legal aid is available for expenses such as external reports and translations.
Applications for further funding
The team makes decisions on applications submitted by providers for further funding in the following categories.
Controlled Work
The three levels of work are:
- Legal Help and Assistance (forms CW1 & CW3): initial advice and assistance to clients before and after the initial decision stage of the immigration or asylum process
- Controlled Legal Representation (forms CW2, CW3 & CW4): preparation and advocacy relating to an appeal hearing before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT)
- Review and Reconsideration Assessments (RARA): where an appeal to the AIT is refused, the RARA team assesses costs incurred relating to the onward right of appeal under Review and Reconsideration.
Full Representation/Certificated
Work in this category involves:
- all immigration and asylum judicial review, appeals to the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords
- all National Asylum Support Service (NASS) or age assessment cases
- Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
NIAT solicitors will consider the merits of granting higher levels of funding in Higher Court matters.
Forms and guidance
The team can give service providers operational guidance on:
- The New Asylum Model (NAM)
- Preferred Supplier scheme
All Forms are under the CLS>Forms pages.
Guidance on applications for a review of a refusal of funding in immigration and asylum CLR matters
Following discussions with representative bodies and stakeholder groups, the LSC is seeking to ensure that providers and clients are clear as to the process for requesting a review of a legal representative’s decision to refuse funding for an appeal before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) either on their asylum/immigration application or in relation to bail.
Given the speed of the application process and the limited time to appeal any negative decision to the AIT, it is vital that client’s are informed of any refusal of funding and are able to seek a review of that decision as quickly as possible.
To clarify the process, we have put together a guidance document with questions and answers for providers and clients.
For more information
An enquiry line is available to providers and members of the public. Please call this number to:
- enquire about immigration or asylum processes
- ask about NIAT processes
- check the progress of an application
- get spoken authority that a matter be dealt with as urgent (within one day).
The number to call is 0207 718 8091.
To fax an urgent application dial 0207 718 8092.
Payment enquiries
Controlled Work payment enquiries should be referred to your LSC Account/Relationship Manager.
Certificated payment enquiries (except those relating to high cost cases) should be made to the Newcastle processing centre.
Other enquiries
Please contact the Immigration Policy Team for:
- policy matters in relation to publicly funded immigration and asylum cases
- developments and changes in public funding arrangements for immigration and asylum cases.
If you are seeking immigration advice, Community Legal Advice can help if you are eligible for legal aid.
Call the helpline now on 0845 345 4345.
Calls cost no more than 4p per minute from a BT landline but calls from mobiles are usually more. Worried about the cost? Ask an advisor to call you back.
The helpline has a translation service if you would like advice in a language other than English or Welsh.
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Last updated: 26 March 2010