CARA (Charity No. 1135610) provides free specialist advice and services in a range of immigration law issues. We are able to advise anyone living in UK. CARA has already applied for the OISC Level 3 exemption and we are still waiting to be allowed to complete the assessment. This would allow us to acquire the Legal Services Commission's 'Quality Mark' at the Specialist Help level for immigration law. We offer a free telephone advice session on immigration law on Tuesday and Thursday mornings between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 noon. The telephone number is +44 (0) 844 478 0015. This telephone service is staffed by one of our four specialist volunteer immigration advisors. We are happy to give advice over the telephone or to take on cases that need our specialist advice and representation skills. But please note that we are currently exempted to advise by the OISC at Level 1 and can only advise you live in the UK. If you think that you will need an appointment or representation then it is best to call the advice line first. This will ensure that you get an appointment at the right time and that the relevant information is obtained at the start. Often we are able to provide all the information that you need over the telephone and will back this up with relevant leaflets and letters so that you understand the advice that you have been given. We are not able to offer assistance in completing basic visitor, visa, nationality or settlement forms, other than providing advice on these over the telephone. CARA wishes to be exempted at OISC Level 3 and our advisers will be particular experts in representation and advocacy before the Immigration Adjudicator and at Immigration Appeal Tribunals. CARA has published a wide range of leaflets on immigration issues. These can be downloaded free of charge from this web site or collected from CARA. In particular we offer advice, representation and referrals across the whole range of immigration, nationality and asylum matters. This includes visitors, students, family applications and settlement. We currently refer all asylum and refugee matters to the nearest Citizen Advice Bureaux, Law Centres, Asylum Aid, many solicitor firms like Duncan Lewis Solicitors or to go through the List of OISC Level 2/3 Immigration Advisers like the CASA UK that are allowed to give advice and representation on asylum cases and appeals. These organisation may also represent with appeal hearings. However, we plan to start taking cases involving asylum and refugee matters once our application to be exempted by the OISC at Level 3 is approved. This will allow us to cover the whole range of law applicable to this and we shall therefore be able to advise and assist with applications, interviews, detention, tribunals and appeals. Some of our staff speak, read and write local community languages such as
French, Portuguese, Lingala, Kikongo, Somali, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Krio, Swahili, Shona, English and many more African languages/dialects. For this reason, we only obtain the services of interpreters when necessary. Mr Jean-Paul LAWRENCE TAMPU-EYA – Community Legal Services' Supervisor
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