Rosie’s Story
To read more about Rosie’s experiences with our Refugee Family Reunion project, please download the below document.
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Refugee Family Reunion
People who claim asylum in the UK, and are either recognised as refugees or given humanitarian protection, are able to apply for their separated family members to join them. The UK’s Immigration Rules allow married or civil partners, same-sex partners and children aged 17 or under to apply to reunite…
GMIAU Christmas Fundraiser 2018
We’ve advocated for the rights of over 1,000 people in 2018, ensuring access to safety and the chance to begin to build a new life in the North West. As we look towards the coming year, we know that there are so many more battles ahead. We are proud to…
Lessons Learned from the Windrush Scandal
Solicitor’s at GMIAU have now put together a full report with insights in to the lessons learned so far from the Windrush Scandal, and how the Home Office have responded to it. It is intended to provide insight in to the legal aspects of how members of the Windrush generation…
Work Experience at GMIAU, Summer 2018
As part of our commitment to assisting the next generation of social welfare lawyers, we had Dylan, a student of International and European Law at The Hague, Netherlands, complete a two week placement last month. Here is what he had to say about the experience. “I spent two weeks at…
Windrush Generation – Our statement regarding compensation
Windrush compensation scheme consultation Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit is a voluntary organisation who have been supporting people subject to immigration control for over 25 years. We deal mainly with asylum and human rights cases but have also dealt with a number of ‘Windrush’ cases. We have highlighted below some…
Statement from the Law Society – Windrush crisis underscores need for immigration legal aid
Cuts to legal aid for immigration issues mean members of the Windrush generation may be denied justice as they try to settle their status and rebuild their lives, the Law Society of England and Wales warned today. Law Society president Joe Egan said: “As far too many people who came…
Windrush Generation – Our Advice
Following the most recent developments from the Home Office regarding the legal status of those within the Windrush Generation, we have now included a section on our website which outlines as simply as possible our advice on how to proceed. You can access this by clicking here. We will be…
Government Apology to Windrush Citizens
Apology In the face of growing pressure, after the Prime Minister’s office had originally declined a meeting, Theresa May apologised to Caribbean leaders today for the treatment of Windrush citizens and stated that “Those who arrived from the Caribbean before 1973 and lived here permanently without significant periods of time…
Fundraising appeal success!
Thank you to everyone who supported the fundraising appeal to raise vital funds for GMIAU’s destitution project (ASHA). ASHA (Asylum Support Housing Advice) is a very busy service which helps people who are seeking asylum or who have been refused and are facing destitution and homelessness and sees over 1000…
Job Vacancy
Experienced Immigration Solicitor/Caseworker Level 2 GMIAU is seeking to recruit a committed and experienced immigration caseworker with proven experience of providing advice and representation in immigration, asylum, and human rights cases. For an informal discussion about the post please contact Denise McDowell, Director, on 0161 769 8822 or via denise@gmiau.org.…
Impact Report 2017
We are pleased to announce the launch of our inaugural impact report, published earlier this year in November 2017. Our report is intended to shine a light on some of the work that our dedicated team of staff and volunteers complete on a daily basis, as well as highlighting some…
Zainab from Iraq
I have four children and my mother also lives close by. Before we came here, our life was very, very good and the children were in a good school. I had a career as an engineer. Suddenly everything changed. I had to keep my children safe and we had no…
Shared Future for Young People
Young People supported by Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit recently participated in a workshop with the Manchester Art Gallery. Facilitating artist Harriet led a group of 27 young people on various artistic techniques and creative photography. The young people really enjoyed the session as they created unique works of art…
Farai from Zimbabwe
I first came to the UK in 2006. It was very difficult in Zimbabwe, the people who were supposed to help you would attack you. It was difficult to know who to trust. It was very, very difficult. My wife and child got their leave to remain in the UK…
Young People of the All4One Group Create Art at Manchester Art Gallery
The All4One group was set up to create a safe social space for children and young people between the ages of 13 and 21 who are seeking asylum or have been trafficked, and are living on their own in Manchester. The group meets monthly for fun activities, trips and events.…
The fate of the ‘jungle’ children
A study of the experiences of children from the Calais ‘jungle’, now claiming asylum in the North West of England, shows why we must speak up for refugees during the election campaign. The door into Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit is on the corner of two busy roads near a…
Background paper on children from the Calais camp
Our policy officer has prepared a background paper for the work we are doing with children from the Calais camp. The paper provides information on the following headings: Context How can children in Calais/France enter the UK? What is the Dublin III regulation? What is the Dubs Amendment? What is…
Let More Children In – An Update
At GMIAU we continue to make the case for Letting More Dubs Children In. Thank you to everyone who has helped spread the message. News that the camp at Grande-Synthe outside Dunkirk was destroyed by a fire in April only demonstrated the urgent need for children to have access to…
Working with students at the University of Manchester
GMIAU director Denise McDowell was recently invited by the University of Manchester to work with a Student Group on the module – The Anthropology of Development and Humanitarianism. The students presented their research on the subject of “how anthropology can help to think about the issue of refugees and people…
Let the children in!
The announcement by government that they are to stop the scheme to bring vulnerable lone refugee children to the UK under the Dubs amendment to the Immigration Act 2016 has shocked and outraged many of us. The government seeks to blame local authorities. However, many believe that the government failed…
Rev Andy Braunston, our Chair, leaves after 10 years
It was a bittersweet evening as Trustees, staff, volunteers and students gathered to thank Rev Andy Braunston for his outstanding leadership and valuable contributions made over the last decade as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit. Through thick and thin Andy was a strategic…
Briefing paper on the experiences of children from the Calais camp in the North West of England
Why are there children from the Calais camp in the North West? For over 15 years there have been transit camps in the French city of Calais, where people have gathered to cross the channel to the UK. Many of those who enter the UK from the Calais camp are…
A new life for Mavis and her daughter
Granted Indefinite Leave to Remain and now a British citizen I left Malawi because of my family. After my husband died my father wanted me to marry my husband’s brother because he was in business with him. At the end of the day it was like inheriting his brother’s possessions…
When no good deed goes unpunished
Families in the UK that open their doors to child relatives fleeing the camps of Calais are being penalised by stringent rules on legal aid. It was a cold winter day last year and the small waiting room at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit is cramped as usual with clients…
GMIAU celebrates the first Justice First Fellows
The Legal Education Foundation’s innovative Justice First Fellowship has passed an important milestone, with its first ever intake of fellows qualifying as solicitors. The nine solicitor Fellows who joined the then embryonic scheme in 2014 completed their legal training at some of the country’s leading social welfare organisations, including Public…
Calais children need a lawyer
Calais children need a lawyer: social workers in contact with children from the Calais camp must make sure they have access to an immigration lawyer. Which children are we talking about? Small numbers of children from the camp in Calais are coming to the UK because they have family members…
Peter now granted refugee status
Peter is a young man from Zimbabwe. A victim of the country’s economic crisis, he was forced to try and make a living by illegally panning for gold. He was not interested in politics, but his four childhood friends were all members of the MDC. As a result, he was…
In her own words: Prossy
In Uganda it is illegal to be gay. At the moment the maximum is 14 years and it is on course to be the death penalty. That is what I was running away from. My partner and I were put in prison, but it is a corrupt country so my…
Nasrin and her son Mojtaba now free from violence
Nasrin is from Iran. When she was 21, she came under pressure from her family to marry. She did not want to marry, preferring to pursue a career, but felt she had no choice – women do not have many options in Iran. Nasrin’s husband was violent to her from…
In her own words: Niluofar
We left Iran because of my mother’s problems. I was only thirteen but I got the vibes that there is no free speech, no equality of men and women, differences in the legal terms that apply to men and women. She had issues with my Dad who was really part…
Mohamed and his family finally reunited
Mohamed is from Somalia. He fled the civil war that has been going on there since 1991. He is a member of a small clan, which cannot protect itself from the larger clans who are in control. Mohamed was lucky – he was granted refugee status by the Home Office.…
In his own words: Michel
I left the Democratic Republic of Congo because of my involvement with a dissident newspaper. (There is no freedom of the press in DRC). I had an internet cafe and they were using my machines to type. I was hosting that group in my office without knowing what the risk…
Josephine’s chance to rebuild her life
Josephine was only 6 years old when both her parents were killed in Angola’s civil war. She is from Cabinda, which is a part of Angola which is seeking independence and has been the scene of a long running conflict as a result. Josephine cannot remember exactly what happened to…
In her own words: Mavis
I left Malawi because of my family. After my husband died my father wanted me to marry my husband’s brother because he was in business with him. At the end of the day it was like inheriting his brother’s possessions and it suited him that my brother-in- law was taking…
Statement on the EU Referendum from Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
We understand that there is widespread concern about the outcome of the EU Referendum. There are already increased reports of racism and hate crime. Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit exists to support anyone who is subject to immigration control and to oppose racism in all its forms. This is a…