Immigration and asylum legal aid for UASC teams and leaving care services.
A specialist legal aid team for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and care leavers. One referral route, one named caseworker for each young person, and updates that fit your care plan.
The immigration case runs alongside the care plan
Every unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) in your care has a legal case running alongside their care plan. The outcome decides how long they can stay, what support they get at 18, and whether they can build a settled life here.
Deadlines in an immigration case are short and rarely line up with review meetings. A missed extension or a late appeal can leave a care leaver without permission to stay. We work to your timetable, tell you what is coming, and act early.
Legal aid for every stage of a UASC case
Children under 18
- Asylum claims, from registration to the decision
- Preparing the young person for the asylum interview, with a responsible adult present
- Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal if the claim is refused
- Non-asylum immigration and British citizenship applications for children without a parent or guardian
- Advice where the young person’s age is disputed
- Trafficking and exploitation cases, and the National Referral Mechanism
Care leavers and young adults
- Applications to extend UASC leave before it runs out
- Further permission, settlement and citizenship applications
- Fresh claims where new evidence or new risks emerge
- Appeals and refusals
- Bail and detention, if a young person is detained
- Help understanding a decision, so the pathway plan reflects it
No cost to the council. The Legal Aid Agency funds this work. We check legal aid at the start and tell you if anything is not covered.
How we work with your team
| What you get | How it works |
|---|---|
| One named caseworker | Each young person has one caseworker from the first meeting to the decision, supervised by a senior accredited supervisor. |
| A clear response time | We acknowledge every referral within 2 working days. Urgent cases are dealt with first. |
| Updates that fit your care plan | With the young person’s consent, we update the social worker at the interview, the decision, any deadline and any expiry date. |
| Child-centred meetings | Meetings at a pace the young person can manage, with breaks, a qualified interpreter in their language and dialect, and a trusted adult present if they wish. |
| Safeguarding | Caseworkers on children’s cases hold enhanced DBS checks. We raise welfare and trafficking concerns with you straight away. |
| Evidence from the people who know them | We ask social workers, carers, schools, GPs and key workers for evidence, and tell you exactly what we need and why. |
| Location | Meetings at our offices in Leicester and Liverpool, and by video wherever the young person is placed. |
| Accreditation | Legal Aid Agency contracts for immigration and asylum, Specialist Quality Mark, and caseworkers accredited under the Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme. |
If your authority refers regularly, we can agree a single point of contact for your team and a simple update routine. Ask us about briefings for social workers and personal advisers on the asylum process.
Where we come in
- Registering the claim. For a child in care, the asylum intake appointment is booked on 0300 123 4193 with the child’s name, date of birth, nationality, any document number, the foster carer’s details and any medical conditions. Refer to us before the appointment if you can.
- The statement and evidence. We meet the young person over more than one session if needed, and build the account and the evidence with the social worker, carer and school.
- The asylum interview. Children have a responsible adult with them. We prepare the young person and attend where legal aid allows.
- The decision. An unaccompanied child granted refugee status or humanitarian protection gets at least 5 years. This also applies to a young person who would have met the UASC definition but turned 18 before the grant.
- If refused. A child refused protection may get UASC leave if there are no adequate reception arrangements in their home country. It lasts 30 months or until they are 17½, whichever is shorter. We advise on an appeal straight away.
- Before the leave runs out. An application to extend must be made before the current permission ends. We diarise every expiry date and contact you months ahead.
Plan for 18 well before the birthday
At 18, children’s services duties become leaving care duties for young people who were looked after, and the immigration position often changes at the same time. If a young person’s UASC leave ends before a new application is made, they can lose their rights to work, study and support.
We start planning at least six months before the 18th birthday with the social worker and personal adviser. We make sure the right application goes in on time, and we explain to the young person what will change.
Urgent: a young person who says they are a child and has been placed in adult accommodation, or has been detained, should be referred the same day. Say so at the top of the form.
One form. About ten minutes.
- Open the referral form and choose local authority or professional. You can save it and come back.
- Tell us about the young person. Name, date of birth, nationality, language and dialect, placement and your contact details.
- Upload what you have. Home Office letters, the ARC, any decision, any age assessment, the pathway or care plan, and any trafficking concerns. Gaps are fine.
- We confirm legal aid and allocate a caseworker. We arrange the first meeting with the young person and tell you who is handling the case.
Common questions from local authorities
Does the council pay for this?
No. Asylum claims for children are covered by legal aid, and since 25 October 2019 non-asylum immigration and citizenship cases for children without a parent or guardian are covered too. The Legal Aid Agency pays us. There is no cost to the council or the young person.
Who can refer?
Social workers, personal advisers, leaving care teams, independent reviewing officers, foster carers, supported accommodation providers and Independent Child Trafficking Guardians. Use the referral form and choose local authority or professional.
How quickly do you respond?
We acknowledge referrals within 2 working days. If there is an interview date, a refusal with an appeal deadline, a young person in adult accommodation or in detention, say so at the top of the form and we deal with it first.
Can you meet the young person where they are placed?
We meet young people at our Leicester and Liverpool offices and by video wherever they are placed. A change of placement does not mean a change of lawyer.
Will you keep the social worker updated?
Yes, with the young person's consent. We update you at the points that matter to the care plan: the interview, the decision, any appeal deadline and any application before their leave runs out.
Do you help after the young person turns 18?
Yes. We help care leavers extend UASC leave, apply for further permission and, later, for settlement and British citizenship where they qualify. We start planning well before the 18th birthday.
Is the Tribunal fee a problem for a child's appeal?
A young person under 18 who gets services from the council may not have to pay the Tribunal fee. Young people on legal aid or asylum support may not have to pay either.
A legal partner for your UASC team.
Refer a young person, or talk to us about a referral route for your authority.