Petition · past parliament

RESTRICT LEGAL AID FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND FAILED ASYLUM SEEKERS.

Rejected 15 signatures

What the petition asks

Restrict the provision of legally aided assistance to all illegal immigrants. They should have "one bite of the cherry instead of being able to bring case after case in order to delay their deportation.
Legal Aid is being abused by, what some people see as unscrupulous lawyers, to enable appeal after appeal for those who have no right to be here. The signatories to this Petition call upon Her Majesty's Government to introduce legislation to stop this abuse

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

We understand you want restrictions on the rights to legal aid. However, there are already rules governing eligibility for legal aid.

Legal aid relating to civil actions, such as asylum applications, is subject to a 'means' test (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-who-qualifies-for-civil-legal-aid#means) and a 'merit' test (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-who-qualifies-for-civil-legal-aid#merits).

There are also strict requirements governing when a person can appeal a conviction for the first time, and on subsequent occasions. For example, legal aid is available for judicial review in immigration cases, however there are specific rules to prevent someone repeatedly raising the same issue. This is outlined in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/10/schedule/1/enacted (see Paragraph 19(5)). Further information can be found in this Home Office guidance, which sets out the grounds for appeal in immigration cases: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/919742/rights-of-appeal-v8.0.pdf.

It is therefore not clear what changes you want to be made. You could start a petition calling for specified changes to the rules governing the right to appeal in immigration cases, if that is something you'd like to happen.

Timeline

15 Aug 2020 Petition opened for signatures
19 Oct 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 15
Status Rejected
Rejected 19 Oct 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.