What can visitors do?
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Visitors can guide people in detention on where to seek information and advice on applying for bail, including signposting to the BID Self-help guide.
Whilst visitors should make sure they do not cross over the line into giving immigration legal advice, they can provide information on bail, encourage people to ask about bail at a DDAS appointment, take a copy of BID's self-help to the person you are visiting, help them to complete the fact finding section and make sure they understand the information in the guide. Only immigration solicitors and Level 3 accredited IAA(previously known as OISC) immigration advisors are allowed to do work on applications for immigration bail before the tribunal, while Level 2 IAA advisors on tribunal bail may make applications for TA/TR and CIO bail. See Give Information.
Visitors can also share the BID leaflet on what - if available - they can get on release from the Home Office, as this is dependent on the method by which they are released from detention.
Visitors can signpost to the BID bail helpline, online resources, bail workshops and legal clinics in IRCs.
Individuals in detention who at some point instructed a private solicitor, possibly because they had not realised that they may be eligible for legal aid, may go for months without a bail application or any other attention to the fact of their detention, simply because they can’t afford it. Under these circumstances, arguably, they no longer have a legal representative because they cannot afford to pay for work to be done. It may be appropriate for a visitor to signpost anyone in this position towards both the Detention Duty Advice Scheme, and Bail for Immigration Detainees.
Visitors play a vital role by providing emotional support to people in detention. The process of applying for bail, finding a lawyer and waiting for a decision can be difficult. In particular, attending court, whether in person or via video link, is a stressful experience, often aggravated by long periods in detention and previous failures to get release on bail. Visitors can be there as an ally during this time, making sure that people know what to expect and talking through how they can emotionally prepare for this process. Visitors have also been known to attend court hearings of people they visit.
Visitors will need to strike the correct balance between encouraging and supporting someone in detention to make regular applications for release, and acknowledging the awful feelings that another refusal can produce and which can act as a powerful disincentive to try again. In their research into the mental health implications of detention at Brook House IRC, a visitor with Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group described how the person they visited:
“...couldn’t go for bail because it would be too awful to be refused. You don’t want to ask because you then contemplate being free, and I think it’s awful to go to court and be told ‘no’, I think that really hurts people”. [1]
Despite this and while the immigration bail process is rightly characterised as something of a lottery, and the barriers in the way of release can be substantial, people do get released from detention. There are fair and considerate immigration judges whose starting point is a presumption of liberty and who do not wish to rubber-stamp lengthy periods of detention.
Visitors can make people in detention aware of their accommodation options and where they can find the relevant forms to apply for Home Office accommodation.
If a Home Office accommodation application is taking a long time, you can encourage the person you are visiting to ask their solicitor to take steps. Those who face extreme delays in getting Home Office bail accommodation should be referred to a public law solicitor, preferably one with a housing or community care contract as well.
With permission, visitors could call the Home Office to check the reason for a delay in granting support, but be careful not to make representations on behalf of the person in relation to their substantive case or their detention unless you are qualified or accredited to do so.
Migrant Help can also be contacted to request urgent emergency section 98 accommodation in order to avoid destitution.
ASAP helpline (open Monday, Wednesdays and Friday from 2pm-4pm): 020 3716 0283.
Migrant Help Free Asylum Helpline (open 24/7/365): 0808 8010 503
Home Office asylum intake unit (Monday to Thursday, 9am to 4:45pm, Friday, 9am to 4:30pm) 0300 123 4193
BID Advice Line (Mon-Thurs, 10am - 12 midday) 020 7456 9750
When someone is due to arrive late at night at their accommodation, visitors can help by informing the accommodation manager on site of a late arrival. Visitors can also make sure that people know that they should be released from detention with their property and with a summary of their medical notes.
Some visitor groups also provide financial support for travel costs to accommodation or you can support by applying to other local organisations for emergency grants.
BID and The Bail Observation Project (BOP) have both carried out extensive research into the bail process before the immigration tribunal, drawing attention to the obstacles that people in detention face in being granted tribunal bail, despite the general presumption of liberty that applies to administrative detention. These reports were published prior to changes to immigration bail introduced in the Immigration Acts of 2014 & 2016.
BID, (2010), A Nice Judge on a Good Day: Immigration Bail and the Right to Liberty
BOP, (2013), Still a Travesty: Justice in Immigration Bail Hearings
On new provisions on bail and bail accommodation see also:
ILPA, (2016), Information Sheet: Immigration Act 2016: Immigration Bail
BID, (2012), The Liberty Deficit: Long-term Detention and Bail Decision-making. A study of immigration bail hearings in the First Tier Tribunal.
BOP, (2011), Immigration Bail Hearings: A Travesty of Justice? Observations from the Public Gallery.
ILPA, (2016), Information Sheet: Immigration Act 2016 Overview (updated 01 November 2016).
ILPA, (2016), Information Sheet: Immigration Act 2016: Home Office Support and Accommodation
1. Gatwick Detainee Welfare Group, (2012), ‘A prison in the mind: the mental health implications of detention in Brook House IRC’.
