Here For Good, Free Immigration Advice
Here For Good is a free immigration advice service for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members wishing to remain in the UK post-Brexit.
George Hanvere
About Here For Good
Here for Good is a free immigration advice service which targets EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. It was created in response to Brexit to ensure that EU citizens living in the UK had the support they needed in regards to their immigration status.
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.
Speak to an immigration advisor
If you wish to know more about how Here For Good may be able to help you, or if you would like assistance with another matter to UK immigration, then get in touch with us to speak to an expert immigration lawyer.
Who does Here for Good help?
Here for Good provides telephone immigration support to EU Nationals who require it. However, their email advice services for complex cases are provided on a means-tested basis. To find out whether you qualify for this level of service, head over to this link.
Is Here for Good still providing free immigration advice?
Yes, the team of volunteers at Here for Good are still providing free immigration support to EU Nationals. Whilst schemes such as the EU Settlement Scheme are now only open to EU Nationals with exceptional circumstances, the team at Here for Good are still helping EU Nationals with concerns.
More recently, Here for Good have started to provide free immigration support in relation to the Ukraine crisis. Here for Good are not only providing free immigration advice to concerned EU Nationals with relatives in Ukraine, but they are also able to assist with applications regarding the Ukraine Family Scheme Visa and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, and are even funding a caseworker to solely deal with matters relating to the Ukraine crisis.
I missed out on the deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme, now what?
If you have missed out on the EU Settlement Scheme, you may still be eligible to apply to the scheme if you meet a set of exceptional circumstances. The team at Here for Good will be able to explain whether you meet this eligibility, and if not, they will be able to discuss other routes for you.
How can Paragon Law help?
Our immigration lawyers are continuing to advise EU citizens following Brexit. So whether you are an EU citizen with pre-settled status who is wanting to apply for settled status, or if you are an EU citizen looking to come to the UK - contact us today to see how we can help you.