Signposting to refugee and asylum seeker support organisations in London
Below is a selection of organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers in London. This is intended as a helpful working document, not a definitive list. If you know of any other organisations that we should add to this list, please let us know.
Asylum and refugee support and advice
London-wide:
Refugee Action
Services: help on asylum process and how to access support; advice for those struggling with the asylum process, poverty and homelessness; practical support on resettlement schemes. Based near Victoria.
Refugee Council
Free advice for refugees and asylum seekers. Based in Stratford. The Refugee Council provides advice for new refugees, access to private housing, refugees into jobs, building bridges between healthcare professionals and the NHS, health access for refugees and support with homelessness applications.
Jesuit Refugee Services
Day centre and for vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, support and advice, grants and crisis support for the newly destitute or detainees, activity groups, outings, peer support, detention visitors.
Notre Dame
Based in Leicester Sq. Support for all asylum seekers and refugees especially French- speakers. Immigration and asylum advice: drop-in service, telephone advice line Fridays only. Advice for benefits and social services. Drop-in health clinic.
Women for Refugee Women
Advocacy and support for women who have faced injustice and seek asylum in the UK. Weekly Monday drop-in during term-time with fares paid and children welcome. 11.15am: yoga, 11am-12.30pm: Mums and children English class, 12.30-2pm: Beginner and intermediate English class, 3-4.30pm: Intermediate and advanced English class. Based near Moorgate.
British Red Cross Refugee Support Services
The Red Cross have destitution services, food banks, healthcare as well as caseworkers and family tracing services. Go online to find nearest local services.
Hackney Migrant Centre
Free advice and casework for refugees, asylum seekers and recent migrants 10.30-4pm Wednesdays. Registration opens at 8.30 am every Wednesday and they only see first 20 people.
Asylum Aid
For asylum support and advice.
Migrant Help
Providing support with asylum, human trafficking and slavery, resettlement and interpreting and translating services
Connexions
A resource list of migrant and refugee organisations across the UK
Immigration Law Practitioners Association
Up to date information on immigration law. Good site for general briefing but do not advise on individual cases. Provide search engine for finding local immigration legal advisors.
Refugee Advice and Support Centre
Another listing of refugee support organisations – legal, NGOs, community organisations
Obaseki Solicitors
Odianose Matthew (training solicitor at the firm) offers 20 min free legal advice relating to Immigration, Employment, Housing and Property law if referencing ‘Migration Museum’ when inquiring.
Migrant Londoners Hub
City Hall is providing information to welcome new arrivals to our city and support migrant Londoners with information about their rights.
Organisations that help with getting English qualifications, employment and training
London-wide:
Refugee Support Network
Helps asylum seekers and refugees aged 15–25 access education, provides mentoring, educational support, training and access to higher education
RefuAid
Increases access to English language tuition, re-qualification and IELTS exams by sponsoring places at private language colleges for refugees and asylum seekers who wish to enter further education or British Universities. They also help with access grants, scholarships, student loans and interest-free finance for education and family reunification.
REP Refugee Employability Programme
Preparing refugees for work and life in England.
We Are Chatterbox
Started by an Afghan refugee dedicated to helping find work that makes use of refugee talents, Chatterbox. They train and employ displaced people to teach their native languages online and in person and pay them the Living Wage, providing meaningful employment and help with integration.
Breaking Barriers
Supports refugees (with status) into employment. They provide advice and guidance on finding a job. They provide English language training including business English, IELTS, English for Work and Customer Services English. They run workshops and work in partnership with businesses to develop recruitment routes for refugees.
Groundwork London
Provide employability support for unemployed refugees over age of 25. Drop in ESOL classes, career advice and pastoral care from Refugee Action.
TERN
The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network founded in 2016 to help refugees set up their own businesses. Help with advice, mentoring, access to business networks and finance.
Project RISE
A free service to help refugees find work, mentoring, free English, events, social opportunities, help with benefits and housing. Need to be unemployed with the right to work. Available in 10 East London boroughs – Barking and Dagenham, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest
Organisations that help with housing and destitution services
London-wide:
Refugees at Home
Connects those with a spare room in their home to asylum seekers and refugees in need of accommodation. This can provide a vital stop-gap when people receive refugee status and often become homeless in the process. Requires referral.
Tackle homelessness and destitution amongst migrants in London. Run a hosting scheme in London and convene the London Hosting Network, with NACCOM, Homeless Link, Praxis, Spare Room, Jesuit Refugee Service, London Catholic Worker, Refugees at Home and others.
More general social activities, networking services and drop-in centres
London-wide:
PAN Intercultural Arts
Pan Intercultural Arts is a dynamic London-based arts company using intercultural performance work to help facilitate self-expression and promote deeper understanding of our changing cultural identities. They work with women who have survived trafficking into the UK, victims of torture and trauma-affected young refugees and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. They have 3 Refugee Arts programmes – Amies for young women trafficked in the UK; Fortune for 17-23 year olds who have recently arrived and Future for unaccompanied asylum seekers aged 14-18.
Timepeace App
A skills swap mobile app, which will connect refugees / asylum seekers and locals, to meet and share for free their skills, passions and interests. More than just an app – a movement that strives towards an integrated, diverse society.
Meetup.com
Join a group, meet up with others with shared interests and passions. Learn new skills, train, collaborate, share….Multiple meetups happening every night across London.
Road to Freedom
Long-term support systems and friendships. Founder Ra’ed Khan digital manager in music industry. Music events. We are a strong team of volunteers who are very keen to organise and facilitate social events such as bowling, days out, tourist attractions for refugees and asylum seekers to experience with their friends.
Migrants Organise
Help refugees and migrants speak out, connect and build common ground. They do a lot of advocacy work. They are based very close to Ladbroke Grove tube just under Westway
Help Refugees
A young, grassroots collective responding to the refugee crisis responding where the need is greatest and supporting over 80 projects in the EU and Middle East. They mostly fundraise to support their humanitarian projects including Imad’s Syrian Kitchen (see website for details).
Welcome Cinema
Monthly events held at Amnesty HQ to unite refugees, asylum and the general public through a shared love of film, food and friendship. Tickets for supper, film screening and Q&A are free for refugees and asylum seekers and approx. £20 for the public. Welcome Cinema screens mainstream, culturally aware films followed by post screen discussions with topical special guest speakers. Welcome Kitchen are a collective of friends and refugee chefs celebrating the cultures and cuisines of our homelands.
North London:
Barnet Refugee Service
An integrated model of support to improve mental health, community cohesion and life chances of vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Advice, support, ESOL, help with Citizenship Test, Syrian group, men’s group, women’s group, emotional support, gardening, youth activities, homework club, raining & workshops, emergency food, visiting solicitors.
Refugee Connections
Provide meet ups for refugees, asylum seekers and Londoners in Hackney. They have an Open House social meet up on Mondays.
Mrang
Support for female refugees and asylum seekers in NW London Volunteer to help others (women-only).
Xenia
Runs Saturday workshops that brings migrant, refugee, asylum-seeking, refugee and British women together to socialise and practise their English through fun, interactive workshops. Make friends and children welcome. Women-only in Hackney.
Sufra Foodbank
A community hub, food bank and community kitchen based in Brent, with many additional projects including a Refugee Resettlement Programme, food academy (cooking course and professional catering skills), welfare advice service, volunteer opportunities, vocational training for asylum seekers and refugees in the Brent area.
NWR Synagogue
Advice for anyone who has recently received leave to remain in the UK. Hot food. English conversation. Help with children’s schoolwork. Children welcome.
AKWAABA
A social drop-in session for migrants from 2-6pm every Sunday in the halls at Green Lanes Methodist Church, 132a Green Lanes, London N16 9BN. The sessions offer a free cooked meal and social and welcoming space including English conversation classes, bike repair, storytelling, arts and music, wellbeing, computers and wi-fi. Travel expenses are not available.
Young Roots
Works with young refugees and asylum seekers through fun and educational activities, trips and 1:1 casework. Offers peer-led language learning. For 18-25 year olds in Brent and Croydon.
Paiwand
Based in Harrow, set up by Afghan refugees in 2002, Paiwand offers support and solidarity to all refugees in London especially young people – Saturday schools, mentoring, youth groups and trips, supported accommodation, info and advice, emotional wellbeing, preparing for employment, parenting and ESOL.
East London:
Refugee & migrant forum of East London (Newham, Barking and Dagenham)
Legal advice, casework support, destitution support and crisis intervention for vulnerable migrants (by appointment). Also run free English language classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 10-12. If you are interested, then just turn up!
Praxis Community Project
Advice, training, mentoring, food, friendship and a welcome meeting place for refugees and migrants in London. Pott Street, London E2.
Barking & Dagenham Asylum Seeker Drop-In
BDCVS, Ripple Centre, 121-125 Ripple Road, Barking, IG11 7FN. A weekly drop in for those affected by destitution, where asylum seekers can get a hot meal, advice and support on a range of issues. Children welcome.
The London Welcome Project
Drop-in service for socially isolated people, particularly the homeless and refugees. Accommodation advice; bathroom/showers, benefit advice; clothing; free food; housing advice, laundry. Nurse-led clinic. ESOL classes. And it has an allotment. Drop in or phone.
West London:
Migrant and Refugee Communities Forum (MRCF)
Run by the Refugee council. Free advice, English classes, befriending, leisure and social activities in West London.
West London Synagogue Drop In
Hot food, clothing, food vouchers and travel expenses. You must bring: your Home Office letter of first refusal, and identification documents for yourself and your children.
West London Welcome
Free drop-in centre for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants with refugee kitchen, social activities, English classes open every Thursday (during term-time). Near Hammersmith.
South London:
Action for Refugees in Lewisham (AFRIL)
A charity supports insecure immigration families and works with resettled refugee families, and newly arrived asylum seekers in local hostels. It provides services like: helping hands foodbank, rainbow club supplementary school, advice and advocacy service, immigration advice project – with Southwark Law Centre and wellbeing activities.
Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
Provide a wide range of free support services to asylum seekers and refugees in Southwark. They have 2 drop-in day centres in Southwark offering free English classes, gardening, lunch, crèche, storytelling, advice.
Greenwich Migrant Hub
We work with advice agencies to offer FREE advice and information and provide ongoing practical, social and wellbeing support to vulnerable migrants in Greenwich and neighbouring boroughs. The Hub is open every Tuesday 10:30-13:30 at the Woolwich Common Community Centre. We see people on a first come first serve basis. The session gets very busy and we advise you to arrive early as we cannot always see everyone who comes for advice.
South London Refugee Association
2 weekly drop-in advice sessions, youth casework, family support, ESOL, ICT, education, training and employment support, outing and activities. 2 Mitcham Lane, SW16 6N.
Streatham Drop-in Service For Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Advice, information and signposting, English language classes, creche and play facilities, health and wellbeing support & Women’s wellbeing activities. Saturdays Homework and Families Learning Project (by application only, please contact us to express an interest in joining) (Next door to English Martyrs Church).
Croydon Refugee Day Centre
A safe social space with tea, coffee and cake. A hot midday meal. A small weekly food parcel of non-perishable goods. Toiletries and household items. Clothing. A help desk and signposting service. Access to term-time English classes on Thursday morning. A play area for preschool children.
Lewisham Refugee & Migrant Network
Immigration advice, health access. Various other classes also on offer.
Young Roots
For young refugees and asylum seekers through fun and educational activities, trips and 1:1 casework. Offers peer-led language learning. For 18-25 year olds in Brent and Croydon.
London Welcome Project
A social centre for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Stockwell. Open every Sunday from 12-5pm, its services and activities are free and open to everyone incl. the Bike Project, home-cooked food, English conversation and more.
The Bike Project
A community of refugees and bike mechanics based in South and East London its mission is to get refugees cycling. It fixes up bikes and donates them as well as teaching refugees to cycle safely in London. Cycling proficiency courses for refugee women in Wapping and Croydon.
GrIP is an independent community organisation managed by democratically elected people. They challenge racism by promoting fairness, respect, inclusion and change. Suite 7 Equitable House, 7 General Gordon Square, Woolwich, London SE18 6FH. 020 3747 9862
LGBTQIA+ Support Services
London-wide:
Rainbow Migration
Supporting LGBTQI+ people through the immigration and asylum system, as well as providing training to other organisations.
Micro Rainbow International
Micro Rainbow International tackle poverty and promote integration of LGBTI refugees in the UK.
Rainbows Across Borders
A volunteer-led self-help group for lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers who are fleeing persecution of oppressive homophobic/transphobic regimes. (Croydon).
Outcome at Islington Mind
Outcome is Islington Mind’s LGBTQ+ service. Their project – Freedom from Fear to Love – offers people seeking asylum an individual support package based on a personalised needs assessment, offering support with the challenges of settling in the UK, including companion support to critical appointments, such as home office interviews, hearings and health-related appointments.
African Rainbow Family (ARF)
A not-for-profit organisation that support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual and queer people of African heritage.
You can also view the guide as a PDF – click on the image of the front page below to view and download:
