Your Global Directory of Essential Expatriate Services
Immigration and Visa Services
Immigration Advisory Service
Immigration Advisory Service
3rd Floor, County House, 190 Great Dover Street
SE1 4YB London
Tel: 020 7967 1330
Fax: 020 7403 5875
Website: http://www.iasuk.org/home.aspx
3rd Floor, County House, 190 Great Dover Street
SE1 4YB London
Tel: 020 7967 1330
Fax: 020 7403 5875
Website: http://www.iasuk.org/home.aspx
IAS is the leading charity giving legal advice and representation services to immigrants and asylum seekers free to those who are eligible.
IAS was created in 1993 out of the former United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service (UKIAS: established in 1970) as an independent organisation publicly funded under the 1971 Immigration Act to provide free advice and representation to persons with rights of appeal against refusal of their applications. Together with UKIAS, therefore, IAS has over 35 years’ experience of helping those facing immigration and asylum difficulties. We now have offices throughout the UK and in Sylhet (Bangladesh).
The Large Charities Unit of the Charity Commission visited IAS in October 2004 and made the following comments:
“Our overall impression is that the charity has proved itself able to respond well in an environment characterised by rapid change. The IAS seems focussed on its areas of expertise and, in a competitive environment, is clear about its niche and what distinguishes it from commercial service providers. The charity is outward-facing and evidently strives to be accessible to its users.
“We gained an impression of an active and effective trustee board, and an appropriate delineation of roles between the trustees and executive.
“The implications of the changing funding arrangements have been significant to the IAS. However, progress has evidently been made in changing the internal culture, as well as in responding to the increased competition around service provision. The IAS seems clear about its distinctive characteristics (such as the experience and expertise developed over a long period) and makes use of opportunities to shore up its place in the market (eg: through expansion into areas where commercial services have closed).
“The charity actively seeks to make its publications accessible to its clients, including through the use of multi-lingual videos, and by keeping its website simple to enable people to download it with less advanced technology. It is also clear that the IAS compares well against many other charities in its progress towards attaining the best practice standards as outlined in the Regulatory Study RSB on Transparency & Accountability.”
IAS gives free advice and assistance on all immigration, asylum and nationality issues to persons in the UK and abroad eligible for Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation and we present appeals against refusal decisions for all who have a right of appeal. We can take cases to the higher courts by way of appeal and judicial review.
Despite our objections, the Government ended thirty-three years of a free service for all our clients as from 1 April 2004. Consequently, from that date (1 March in Leicester), we have to make charges for our services (available at present only in certain offices) for those clients who are not financially eligible for a free service in accordance with the income and capital limits laid down by the Legal Services Commission (which funds IAS in England and Wales). That is why we have to ask our clients about their financial means. These charges are based only on the cost to us of providing the service. We do not make any commercial profit out of the charges and we keep them as low as possible for the assured quality service that we give.
Cases range from the dependants of those already settled in the UK (children, husbands, wives, elderly relations) seeking to come to the UK for permanent settlement and to visitors, students and others seeking to come to the UK for temporary purposes whose applications have been refused.
People already present in the UK often seek advice and representation from IAS about the admission of relatives and about their own applications to change their status or for further leave to remain. There are also those who face deportation from the UK. IAS responds to enquiries via email and letters from around the world and gives advice in person or over the telephone to some 36,000 people and opens more than 7,000 appeals case files every year. IAS also makes written representations to the Home Office or Immigration Service on behalf of clients.
IAS was created in 1993 out of the former United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service (UKIAS: established in 1970) as an independent organisation publicly funded under the 1971 Immigration Act to provide free advice and representation to persons with rights of appeal against refusal of their applications. Together with UKIAS, therefore, IAS has over 35 years’ experience of helping those facing immigration and asylum difficulties. We now have offices throughout the UK and in Sylhet (Bangladesh).
The Large Charities Unit of the Charity Commission visited IAS in October 2004 and made the following comments:
“Our overall impression is that the charity has proved itself able to respond well in an environment characterised by rapid change. The IAS seems focussed on its areas of expertise and, in a competitive environment, is clear about its niche and what distinguishes it from commercial service providers. The charity is outward-facing and evidently strives to be accessible to its users.
“We gained an impression of an active and effective trustee board, and an appropriate delineation of roles between the trustees and executive.
“The implications of the changing funding arrangements have been significant to the IAS. However, progress has evidently been made in changing the internal culture, as well as in responding to the increased competition around service provision. The IAS seems clear about its distinctive characteristics (such as the experience and expertise developed over a long period) and makes use of opportunities to shore up its place in the market (eg: through expansion into areas where commercial services have closed).
“The charity actively seeks to make its publications accessible to its clients, including through the use of multi-lingual videos, and by keeping its website simple to enable people to download it with less advanced technology. It is also clear that the IAS compares well against many other charities in its progress towards attaining the best practice standards as outlined in the Regulatory Study RSB on Transparency & Accountability.”
IAS gives free advice and assistance on all immigration, asylum and nationality issues to persons in the UK and abroad eligible for Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation and we present appeals against refusal decisions for all who have a right of appeal. We can take cases to the higher courts by way of appeal and judicial review.
Despite our objections, the Government ended thirty-three years of a free service for all our clients as from 1 April 2004. Consequently, from that date (1 March in Leicester), we have to make charges for our services (available at present only in certain offices) for those clients who are not financially eligible for a free service in accordance with the income and capital limits laid down by the Legal Services Commission (which funds IAS in England and Wales). That is why we have to ask our clients about their financial means. These charges are based only on the cost to us of providing the service. We do not make any commercial profit out of the charges and we keep them as low as possible for the assured quality service that we give.
Cases range from the dependants of those already settled in the UK (children, husbands, wives, elderly relations) seeking to come to the UK for permanent settlement and to visitors, students and others seeking to come to the UK for temporary purposes whose applications have been refused.
People already present in the UK often seek advice and representation from IAS about the admission of relatives and about their own applications to change their status or for further leave to remain. There are also those who face deportation from the UK. IAS responds to enquiries via email and letters from around the world and gives advice in person or over the telephone to some 36,000 people and opens more than 7,000 appeals case files every year. IAS also makes written representations to the Home Office or Immigration Service on behalf of clients.