Migration 
Edition 4 of the Bevan Foundation’s new series of reports highlights the rights of people seeking justice in Wales, their knowledge of these rights, and limitations on exercising them.
Part 4: Experiences of Justice series – Rights (6 parts)
In this fourth edition of our six-part series reporting on our study of lived experiences at the heart of the immigration legal services crisis, we explore in detail people’s awareness and understanding of their rights when accessing justice.
In this edition, we look at people’s knowledge of their rights within the immigration legal process, their rights as clients, their ability to identify legitimate and good quality legal services, and challenges to exercising new rights. The report also looks at exploitation within the immigration system and as a result of being unable to access justice and limitations on people’s rights.
Our study found that:
- 50% of participants seeking asylum (40% of others) demonstrated a lack of knowledge of the legal system.
- 38% of people seeking sanctuary did not know their rights in relation to legal representation.
- Most people wanted to know more about what their entitlements were and how to exercise them.
- 15% of participants seeking sanctuary and 20 per cent of other participants indicated that they had been to an unregulated or unscrupulous advisor.
- In many cases, lack of rights knowledge contributed to ongoing denial of these rights, as people were unaware of how to assert themselves or how to challenge abuse and exploitation.
The following two editions in this series look at the themes Interpreters and Impacts. The full series is listed below.
We have supported our Experts by Experience working group to review the research findings and develop their own recommendations for improving access to justice for people seeking sanctuary in Wales. Their report is published as Appendix A to this report.
We will hold a webinar to share the study’s findings on Wednesday 26th February 2025 at 13:00 – 13:45.
Other editions in this series:
| Edition | Title |
| Part 1 | Summary Report |
| Part 2 | Barriers to Access |
| Part 3 | Client Care |
| Part 4 (this edition) | Rights |
| Part 5 | Interpreters |
| Part 6 | Impacts |
| APPENDIX A | Recommendations of the Experts by Experience Working Group |
| APPENDIX B | Project Participants |
