Skip to main content
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. What is covered by legal aid
  3. 3. Immigration and asylum cases
  4. 4. Exceptional case funding

Introduction

In England and Wales legal aid is funded by the UK Government to enable people who have a low income to access free legal advice.

Legal aid is not classed as a public fund for immigration purposes and can be accessed by a person regardless of their immigration status, including a person who is subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) condition.

However, legal aid is only available for some types of cases and very few immigration matters, which means that many people who are on a low income will not be able to access free legal advice. 

This information in this section refers to legal advice provision in England and Wales. For information about funding for legal advice in Scotland and Northern Ireland, see: