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We campaign for a future which allows people to move and to belong, free from the harm of immigration controls.
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About us
Learn about who we are at GMIAU: our values, our history, our team and our impact.
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Find opportunities to work or volunteer with us, ways to make a difference by donating, and how to get in touch.
Our Impact
“A reason to smile is what GMIAU is. Amidst the dark. There are hundreds, if not thousands of us, who are safe at home now, due to GMIAU.”
Every day, we stand alongside people navigating the UK’s hostile immigration and asylum systems. Through our legal advice, campaigning and community support, we work to secure safety, dignity and justice for migrants across the North West.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, our legal team took on 594 cases for people from 58 nationalities, helping people seek asylum, challenge unfair decisions, and secure the right to stay with their families. In the same period, we helped secure 236 grants of refugee status or humanitarian protection, 130 grants of indefinite leave to remain, and 75 grants of limited leave to remain. These life-changing outcomes have allowed the people we support to rebuild their lives in safety.
Alongside our legal work, we support people facing the harshest consequences of the immigration system. Our Destitution Team supported 1,047 people in crisis, including more than 300 people experiencing homelessness, helping many secure stable accommodation, welfare support and immigration advice. We also provide specialist legal support for survivors of abuse, completing 81 successful applications for leave to remain for survivors of domestic violence, helping people escape abuse and rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
“We will be grateful to GMIAU until the last day of our lives”
Our impact in 2025
Our impact goes beyond individual cases. Through our policy, research and campaigning work, we challenge harmful immigration policies, amplify the voices of people with lived experience, and push for a fairer system for everyone.
In 2025, because of us...
people were granted refugee status or humanitarian protection
people in crisis were supported out of destitution
people who were homeless were supported to find accommodation
people were supported with their asylum claims
unaccompanied children were supported with their asylum claim
people were granted indefinite leave to remain
survivors of domestic abuse were granted leave to remain
people were granted limited leave to remain
million was secured in Windrush compensation for clients
people given advice over the phone
frontline workers received training from us on issues including homelessness, asylum support, and domestic abuse.
young people were welcomed to our all4one youth group
Our 2025 impact report
This report shares what we’ve achieved through our free, specialist immigration legal advice and representation, and includes the voices of people who have used our services, sharing the difference this support has made in their lives. It tells the story of what it has taken to stand alongside people navigating the UK’s immigration and asylum systems during a period of profound upheaval and hostility, and what can be achieved when legal expertise, community organising and lived experience come together.
None of this work happens in isolation. We’re deeply grateful to our supporters, funders, and partners who make it possiblible.
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Age assessments
“You can’t stop feeling sad. You have to feel sad and angry when someone says you are a liar. It is in your heart.”
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The VOICE
We are The VOICE: an action group of people on the 10-year route to settlement, supported by GMIAU.
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The 10-year route
“You can’t have dreams or aspirations on the 10-year route... It ruins lives, it ruins families.”
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Greater Manchester Asylum Hotels Group
We are not looking for luxury, just a basic space we can call home, where we can live with dignity.
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Reporting and detention
No one should have to live in fear of being locked up because of their immigration status.
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No Borders in Education
“We need education now. Not tomorrow, not in the future, now.”
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Windrush
The government is still failing in its commitments to the Windrush generation.
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Asylum accommodation
Everyone, no matter where they are from, needs a safe place to call home.
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Community safety
For our communities to be safe, we need an end to hostile immigration policy and the politics of divide and rule.
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Children in care
We don’t want to see any child turn 18 without legal status, unable to pursue their dreams.
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Children seeking asylum
When a child seeks safety in the UK, they need security and care. Instead they face more uncertainty.
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Expectations for Greater Manchester Politicians
We’ve created a collective set of expectations for politicians in Greater Manchester, signed by organisations across the city-region.
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Destitution
No one should be forced into destitution based on where they are from.
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