Here For Good, Free Immigration Advice

For EU citizens living in the UK, the period which followed the 2016 Brexit Referendum was one full of uncertainty and anxiety. Initially, it was unclear how the rights of EU citizens would be affected but as time went on it became clear that the rights of EU citizens were getting lost amidst the other repercussions of the referendum. In response to this concern about EU citizens, graduates Tahmid Chowdhury and Isabella Mosselmans (with support from Bindmans LLP) created Here for Good to provide free immigration advice to EU citizens. 

Here for Good was established to provide free immigration advice to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to those who would not be able to access it otherwise. In the weeks which followed the introduction of the ‘EU Settlement Scheme’ it became apparent that many affected EU citizens were unaware of this. The lack of awareness towards the Settled Scheme which was shown by individuals and organisations showed the need to specifically target these ‘advice deserts’. It was found that the Midlands was home to a number of these ‘advice deserts’, and so, in admiration of their work, our Personal Immigration Team have given up a couple of days a week for the past few years to provide free immigration advice as part of Here for Good.

Since the introduction of Here for Good, the charity has:

• Provided legal support and advice to over 500 callers.

• Handled over 300 email queries.

• Provided legal representation to over 120 people.

The collaboration between ourselves and Here for Good has run through our Personal Immigration Team. We saw this as an opportunity to allow recent graduates, George Hanvere and Elliott Dipper, to take a lead on this project and develop invaluable managerial and legal skills. The ability for these individuals to utilise this project in such an effective way has solidified the reasoning as to why Paragon Law prioritises building relationships with the local universities. Therefore, not only does this project show Paragon Law’s dedication to the local community through its free legal services, but through championing graduates of the local area and giving them a stepping stone to their future career it shows Paragon Law’s passion for helping future generations.