Host Organisation: Birmingham Community Law Centre

Anisa Altaf

Anisa was born and brought up in Birmingham. Anisa graduated in Law from the University of Birmingham in 2012 and went on to work at the Ministry of Justice and several law firms in and around Birmingham. Having decided to pursue areas of law which were community focused Anisa completed her LPC LLM from the University of Law in 2016.

Her experiences in the working world and completion of the LPC LLM enabled her to decide exactly which direction she wanted to devote herself to and was the reason for her only applying to the BCLC Justice First Fellowship. Anisa wished to work in an organisation which tied in with her personal values in an ethical environment which is not solely profit driven and considered its wider impact on the surrounding community, whilst championing policy change.

Project – The Family Reunion Project

In April 2013 the government changed the law in relation to funding family reunion cases. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 changed the areas that are covered by legal aid. Consequently family reunion cases are no longer in the scope of legal aid unless these cases fall under exceptional case funding.

The project will enable us to provide a service to assist individuals with the legal process of applying for family reunion. The aim of this project is to ensure refugees and those who have been granted humanitarian protection can assert their right to be reunited with their families in the UK.

By using volunteers from the local community we seek to empower those who have been through the family reunion process themselves. The aim is to equip these volunteers with useful skills and experience by helping those who are experiencing the difficulties the volunteers have faced, overcame and can relate to.

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