Background / History

The roots of the Refugee Legal Centre goes back to the Refugee Unit of the UK Immigrants Advisory Service, which was founded in 1976 as a legal assistance project for asylum seekers funded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

In the close to two decades of our existence there has been numerous major pieces of immigration and asylum legislation. The issues of asylum seekers and have been increasingly highlighted, often in very negative terms, in the press and other media. Legal representation in the context of an increasing restrictive legislative framework for asylum seekers and other immigrants plus the broadly negative public perception of these groups is demanding and high challenging work.

The Refugee Legal Centre’s success rates for the clients we act for are proof of how competent representation is necessary to ensure fairness for individuals in this complex area of law.

The Refugee Legal Centre is a registered charity and governed by an independent Board of Trustees. The quality of our work is subject to the regulations of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, (OISC).