University of London Refugee Law Clinic

The University of London’s Refugee Law Clinic is an innovative project providing pro bono legal advice for refugee clients. Our work provides some of the most disadvantaged communities in London with access to fair and equal legal representation, a basic human right which many asylum seekers in the UK struggle to find.

The clinic is supported by the Central University and by 10 of the University’s Member Institutions. It is based on a model of Clinical Legal Education for the University’s diverse student body and facilitates practical experience for students working on real cases under the supervision of a qualified expert lawyer. Delivered in partnership with two law firms, the Refugee Law Clinic also provides the opportunity for lawyers to undertake pro bono work within the clinic. 

The clinic's main legal focus is on advising and preparing fresh claims for asylum and it aims to complement the work of law firms and other service providers in London.

Referral Criteria:

• Accept referrals for ARE clients who may have a potential fresh claim for asylum. A service user must have made a previous asylum claim and must now be appeal rights exhausted.

• The referrer must complete a subject access request for the service user, and provide us with as many documents as possible at the initial referral stage. Operates on a referral-only basis from partner organisations. We regret that we cannot accept direct referrals from the public or from other organisations at this time.

Not able to take on cases where:

• The claim is on behalf of a family group

• The service user has recently (within the last 6 months) submitted a fresh claim or had judicial review proceedings

• The service user does not have the capacity to give instructions

• The case involves criminality

• The service user is currently detained

• There is an urgent deadline.

How to access

Referrals must come through from one of our partners organisations. For Greater Manchester these partners are Refugee Action and the Refugee Council. Please contact them for further details.

Self-referral is not available for this service.