Seeking Refuge? - Rights of Women

Your legal representative is the person who
advises you on the law and your rights. Your
legal representative may be a solicitor or an
immigration advisor. A solicitor is a qualified
lawyer who is responsible for dealing with the
preparation of cases. Some solicitors may also
represent their clients in courts or tribunals.
Solicitors are represented by the Law Society
www.lawsociety.org.uk and are regulated by
the Solicitors Regulation Authority
www.sra.org.uk An immigration advisor is
someone who is not a solicitor, but who is
able to give immigration law advice. For
information about immigration advisors
contact the Office of the Immigration Services
Commissioner www.oisc.gov.uk
Depending on your financial circumstances
and the merits of your case, you may be
entitled to public funding (also known as
legal aid). Public funding enables some
people who cannot afford to pay privately to
get legal advice and representation free of
charge. However, not all legal representatives
do publicly-funded work and there are limits
on the work that a publicly-funded legal
representative can do on a case. For further
information about public funding and getting
legal advice talk to your legal representative or
contact Community Legal Advice
www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk
If you are not entitled to public funding, you
may have to pay for legal advice or, if you
cannot afford this, represent yourself.
What will happen when my case
is considered?
You should be contacted when your case is going to
be considered by the Case Resolution Directorate.
The Case Resolution Directorate will contact you,
rather than any legal advisor you may have had in
the past. It is therefore important that the Case
Resolution Directorate knows your address.
You may be asked to complete a questionnaire
which will ask you the reasons why you want to
stay in the UK. The letter you get will say when
the questionnaire has to be completed and
returned to the UK Border Agency. It is important
to complete the questionnaire on time. If you are
not sent a questionnaire, it is because the Case
Resolution Directorate believes that it has all the
information it needs to make a decision on your
case. You cannot photocopy another person’s
questionnaire and send it to the Case Resolution
Directorate. If you do this it will not lead to your
case being considered.
Whether or not you are asked to complete a
questionnaire, it is important to seek legal advice
as soon as you are contacted by the Case
Resolution Directorate.
Your legal representative can ensure that the
questionnaire is completed correctly and / or that
the Case Resolution Directorate has all the
information it needs to make a decision on your
case.
Once the questionnaire has been returned to the
Case Resolution Directorate, your case will be
given to a case-owner, who will be responsible for
resolving your case. You can and should continue
to provide updated information to the Case
Resolution Directorate after you have sent back
your questionnaire. You may have to attend an
interview with a case-owner. For more
information about interviews, see Chapter 5.
There are some people who may not be contacted
by the Case Resolution Directorate before a
decision is made on their case. This may be
because there is a risk that the person will
disappear, or because they are considered to be a
threat to the public (because they have committed
serious criminal offences). Finally, a person may
not be contacted because the Case Resolution
Directorate is going to take steps to remove them
from the UK. If you are taken into detention, seek
legal advice immediately. For information about
removals, see Chapter 9.
How does the Case Resolution
Directorate make decisions?
There are no published rules that say how cases
dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate
should be decided. However, the Case Resolution
Directorate should follow paragraph 395C of the
Immigration Rules when making decisions, as
well as looking at the law that determines who is
entitled to protection in the UK.
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