The ILPA Secretariat cannot give immigration advice on individual cases.
You can search the names of ILPA members who have chosen to be listed and get in touch with them. You can search by region to find immigration advice near where you live and to find immigration advisors who specialise in particular types of immigration, asylum or nationality cases.
I do not speak English
Most immigration advisors will be able to provide interpreters given notice. Some practitioners list the languages that they speak.
Who can give me immigration advice?
In the UK, solicitors, barristers, members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and those regulated or given an exemption by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) can give immigration advice. For more information on the difference between these, see our careers page.
Barristers in England and Wales are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. In Scotland, barristers are regulated by the Faculty of Advocates, and in Northern Ireland by the Bar Council of Northern Ireland.
In England and Wales, solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, in Scotland by the Law Society of Scotland and in Northern Ireland by the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
Only barristers who are part of the Bar’s public access scheme can be contacted directly. Barristers who are not part of the scheme are unable to take cases or to give advice directly to members of the public.
More information about the regulation of advice is available in ILPA’s information sheet on the regulation of immigration advice and immigration services.
If you are interested in a career as an immigration law practitioner, a good place to start is our information on a career in immigration law.
Will I have to pay for immigration advice?
If you see the words ‘Legal Aid’ then the firm, organisation or individual listed gives free legal advice, funded by the Legal Services Commission, the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission. Whether you will qualify for legal aid will depend on how much money you have (your income and savings) and on the type of immigration advice you need. You can find information about legal aid on the Directgov website.
You can telephone the Legal Services Commission’s Community Legal Advice helpline on5 0845 345 4 345 for a list of firms and not-for-profit organisations who have a contract to give free immigration advice funded by legal aid. The Directgov website will also give you more information on Community Legal Advice.
Some not-for-profit organisations also give free legal advice.