FIAP Conference 2026
How Might We Create an Immigration Legal Advice Movement Led by Lived Experience?
INVITE
FIAP Conference 2026: What Next for Immigration Advice in the UK?
How Might We Create an Immigration Legal Advice Movement Led by Lived Experience?
30th April 2026, 9.30 - 4.00 (lunch 1 - 1.45)
Clifford Chance Law Firm, 10 Upper Bank Street, London E14 5JJ
FIAP Partners & By Invite Only
Key note speakers: Dr Jo Wilding, Mo Omar, and Dr Edward Mynott
Guest panellists: Clifford Chance, Centering Lived Experience in FIAP advisory panel, Greater London Authority, Immigration Advice Authority, Lloyds Bank Foundation, and Refugee Action
We'd like to invite you to our FIAP Conference!
The UK’s asylum system is in flux. Major reforms, gaps in legal aid, and rising anti-immigrant rhetoric are reshaping who can access support and how. In this moment of change, we must ask: How might we create an immigration legal advice movement that centers lived experience?
Our aims of the conference
This conference brings together practitioners, community advocates, policymakers, and people with direct experience of migration to explore how immigration advice can be reimagined through systemic change. Together, we will explore how to build a resilient, fair, and sustainable advice system that meets rising demand while delivering long-term public value.
We will:
- Explore how lived experience can lead the design and delivery of immigration advice that is accessible, compassionate, and effective.
- Build resilient, community-led networks to meet rising demand and fill gaps left by stretched legal aid.
- Identify ways to secure sustainable investment and resources for a movement of immigration advisors and advocates.
- Examine how we can strategically address asylum system reforms through systemic change that centers immigration and racial justice.
Guest speakers
Guest speakers include Dr Jo Wilding, Mo Omar, and Dr Edward Mynott, alongside, alongside representatives from Clifford Chance, the Greater London Authority (GLA), Lloyds Bank Foundation, the Immigration Advice Authority, and the FIAP advisory panel on centring lived experience, ensuring that the voices of those with direct experience of immigration advice are at the heart of the discussion.
Schedule
Places are limited to 40 guests.
Refreshments will be available in the morning and afternoon, and lunch (1 - 1.45) will also be provided.
The morning session (9.30-1.00): will focus on the future of immigration advice in the UK with keynote speaker Dr Jo Wilding, and centering racial justice in immigration with speaker Mo Omar.
Followed by a Q&A Panel with:
- Dr Jo Wilding, Researcher and Associate Professor in Law, University of Sussex
- Ellen Kerslake, Pro Bono Associate, Solicitor-Advocate (Higher Courts Civil Proceedings), Clifford Chance
- Mo Omar, Head of Experts by Experience, Refugee Action
- Laila Aziz, Senior Projects Officer, Insecure Immigration Status, Greater London Authority (GLA)
- Centering Lived Experience in FIAP Advisory Panel
- Karen Eyre-White, Director of Service Delivery, Immigration Advice Authority (IAA)
- Rachel Marshall, Wales Manager, Lloyds Bank Foundation
The afternoon session (2.00-4.00): will focus on representing people before the first-tier tribunal; the lecture will cover hints and tips, the practical realities, and procedural steps, followed by a Q&A. By experienced Tribunal Advocate Dr Edward Mynott.
You can join us for one of the sessions, or for the whole day!
Booking
Join us to imagine and shape a future where immigration advice is not just reactive, but transformative - driven by the voices and expertise of those whose lives it impacts most.
Places are limited - the capacity of the conference is 40 guests.
We ask that only one person attends per organisation, and only book if you can definitely attend.
If you have any questions about what to expect or need more information, please contact Lizzie: LizzieH@refugee-action.org.uk