Our vision

Access to justice, including Windrush Justice, within London communities is increased, enabling grassroots organisations and those who are led by people with lived experience of the immigration system and / or the Windrush Scandal to cultivate their own immigration advice and support skills.

Our approach

- Grow your own: To take an asset based approach, cultivating and investing in organisations’ existing staff and volunteers

- Grassroots power: Valuing grassroots organisations and those led by people with lived experience of the UK immigration system

- Inclusive & adaptive: Expanding to cover new and emerging populations, stepped increases in need, or under-served client groups

- Increasing access to justice: Developing the availability of high quality in-depth casework and Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) regulated advice

Frontline Immigration Advice Project (FIAP) offers support, advice and training to enable organisations to provide quality legal advice to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.  We know that many organisations face barriers to gaining and raising their levels of Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) registration. That's why we want to invest in organisations and provide wrap-around tailored support to give them the best chance to succeed, and to grow the capacity of the immigration advice sector.

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MJGL 2025-2026

Deadline for Application Submission: 13th November 2025

Join our Information Session: 21st October 1 - 2pm >> Book your place here

We have 2 main opportunities available:

1) Increasing Access to Immigration Advice: 

Up to 4 places for MJGL partners who are looking to develop their legal advice services, and bring depth and complexity to their work.

2) Increasing Access to Windrush Justice:

Protected spaces are available for 2 organisations who would like to develop their work in connecting people impacted by the Windrush Scandal with legal information and / or advice services. These 2 organisations can choose to focus on legal information, support and signposting if they do not wish to register with the IAA (although they are welcome to gain IAA training and supervision, if they wish).

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What we are offering

• Funding towards engagement and capacity building costs, including staff time and the maintenance of service provision whilst taking part in the project (including Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC) training and exam period, if relevant).  The amount available per organisation for the year is £17,228.  
• External legal supervision for one member of staff 1 day per week for 3-4 months (or non-legal service development support sessions, where appropriate)

• Group immigration advice and support clinics
• One-to-one needs assessments, with support to develop a sustainable legal information and / or advice service model and action plan
• Tailored workshops
• Help to register with the IAA (if relevant)
• IAA training at Level 1 and Level 2+ (if relevant)
• Study support for IAA assessments (if relevant)
• Continuous professional development
• Awareness raising sessions to enable anyone who is unregistered to work within their legal boundaries
• A quarterly Community of Practice meeting bringing together newly qualified and experienced advisors, the formal legal sector and other support organisations. This will promote an information, skills and learning exchange, as well as helping to ensure effective utilisation of local capacity.

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The funding

Funding available per organisation (including 2 organisations supporting people affected by the Windrush scandal):

September 2025 - August 2026: £17,228

_{What we can fund}

The funding is available to cover up to 6 partner organisations' engagement and capacity building costs, including:

- Resourcing staff time to participate in the project, e.g. to attend one-to-one and group support sessions, work on service development, to attend IAA supervision and to train / study for IAA assessments, if relevant.

- Costs associated with maintaining service provision. e.g. while attending support sessions, events, training, development, and exam period(s) where relevant.

- Organisational engagement expenses related to project participation, service development, and IAA accreditation, as appropriate.

- Project costs to support new casework or legal information / signposting services, eg. interpretation, staff and client travel.

_{What we cannot fund}

Activities that are already funded by the Greater London Authority or another funder (i.e. we are unable to duplicate or ‘double fund’ work that is already funded).

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The criteria

This section covers the criteria that we will use to prioritise applications. Every single point does not need to be met by your project, but we will use this list to score your application. We are looking for organisations who are/have (or would be as a result of this project / funding):

Essential (all applicants)

This section is for all organisations applying (including Windrush Justice):

Organisations must be:

• Working with Londoners in the Greater London area.
• Led and / or informed by people with lived experience of the UK immigration system or Windrush Scandal.
• Expanding to support new and emerging populations, or where there has been a stepped increase in need, within an under-served client group.
• Committed to investing in their own existing staff / volunteers to develop their immigration information and/or advice skills - taking a ‘grow your own’ approach.
• Clear on the plan for their future service, incorporating the new or expanded legal information / signposting or advice work.
• Able to identify specific staff and volunteers to participate fully in the project (including IAA training and supervision, if relevant)
• Able to prepare a timeline to expanded to new or expanded advice delivery, including rough dates for training, receiving supervision and any required IAA applications.
• Well prepared to engage with the MJGL project in good time.

Essential (applicants interested in IAA registration only)

For those looking to develop their IAA regulated advice:

• Ideally, already registered at IAA Level 1 or higher, or employing a solicitor, or Law Society IAAS Accredited Adviser to deliver an advice service. Or prepared to apply to register with the IAA at the point of joining the project.
• Planning to increase the complexity of the immigration advice that they are able to give by raising their IAA level of registration. ‍
• Focusing on developing advice services to offer in-depth casework support (e.g. completing forms and gathering the evidence, to progress the cases).

• Prepared to engage with the project and raise their level of registration and deliver advice
• Have planned their advice service model
• Have a clear timeline for achieving the steps such as IAA registration application submission, training and exam dates.

• Be able to confirm and name which staff members will be IAA training, registering with the IAA, and which staff member will be participating in 3-4 months of intensive IAA supervision

Remember: we will use the list of criteria above to score your application

In prioritising applications, we will consider the balance across different areas of immigration law, IAA Levels, beneficiary groups and geographical locations.

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What we ask for

Successful partners would also commit to fully participating in the project to maximise the benefits of the support that we are offering, including:

• Attending one or more online courses or workshops. See our events page for examples of the training we offer on a rolling programme.
• Join an initial one-to-one support and action planning meeting, plus any follow up sessions, as required.
• One person to actively participate in 3-4 months of 121 intensive IAA supervision (or regular non-legal service development support, where appropriate)
• Actively participate in the Community of Practice immigration advice group (quarterly meetings)
• Engage in 6-monthly monitoring and evaluation, such as returning questionnaires, providing budget information, sending case studies and quotes etc.

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How to apply

To apply please complete this form and send it to DanielF@refugee-action.org.uk.

Go to File > Download > Microsoft word to download the template application form.

Deadline for Application Submission: 13th November 2025

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Information Session: 21st October 1 - 2pm

All prospective applicants are welcome to attend a Project Information Session, held online on the 21st October 1-2pm.

>> Book your place here

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More information

For more information and/or for an application form, contact Dan at DanielF@refugee-action.org.uk

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Suggested further reading

- A Huge Gulf: Demand and Supply for Immigration Legal Advice in London

- Our FIAP microsite

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