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SWIA brings together eight advice and support organisations across the region: Bristol Refugee Rights, the Harbour Project, Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Refugee Support Devon, Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support, Plymouth Hope, Bristol Law Centre and the University of Plymouth Law Clinic.

Each partner brings complementary expertise and experience, enabling rich mutual learning. What we have in common – and what has brought us together – is a commitment to migrants’ rights and a shared belief in the value of partnership working to help realise racial justice.

How we got here

SWIA was established in 2023 thanks to funding from the Justice Together Initiative, in response to the acute shortage of specialist immigration and asylum legal advice across the SW. This shortage has long left many migrant communities facing significant barriers to accessing legal support. SWIA supports access to justice through the development of high-quality immigration and asylum advice through:

* Building the capacity of grassroots organisations
* Developing specialist expertise within the region
* Deepening the collaboration across the sector

What next?

Our model for the second phase of funding (from April 2026) centres on BLC providing professional supervision to IAA-accredited caseworkers across SWIA to help partners maintain and expand their advice provision, including progression to higher levels of IAA accreditation.

SWIA will also deliver:

* Training and shared learning opportunities
* A dedicated peer-support community (to address the isolation that often accompanies this demanding area of work)
* Sharing best practice for internal processes, supervision and casework quality
* Facilitation for leaders from across SWIA to come together regularly to share learning, reflect on practice, develop collective approaches and strengthen working.
* Coordination and support for collective advocacy and influencing work: building a strong, unified partnership voice on policy and sector issues.

Examples of Impact 

SWIA has supported Devon and Cornwall Refugee Support (DCRS), one of the project’s partners, to take on a Legal Aid contract, helping to fill a crucial gap in an area that had had no immigration Legal Aid provider since 2012. BLC has provided mentoring and support to DCRS as it navigates the financial, administrative, and strategic challenges associated with delivering advice and representation under a Legal Aid contract for the first time. In the first half of 2026 SWIA has supported three caseworkers to become newly accredited at IAA Level 2, with more expected as a further cohort prepares to sit their assessment in the second half of the year.

Anti-racism

This collaboration is grounded in a set of shared values that shape the way we work, as well as what we work towards. All SWIA partners recognise that anti-racism is not a fixed outcome but an ongoing practice requiring sustained reflection, accountability and organisational change. This includes actively engaging with the ways in which racism intersects with other forms of oppression and inequality, and maintaining a willingness to examine how these dynamics can be reproduced within organisations and partnerships themselves.

Our vision

Together we are building a stronger, more connected and more resilient immigration and asylum advice sector across the SW; one rooted in shared values and the belief that everyone should be able to access high-quality legal support when they need it. If you’re an organisation on the front line of this work or a funder who shares our vision, we’d welcome the chance to talk about how we can build a stronger sector together. Email us here.

This work is made possible through the generous support of the Justice Together Initiative. We are grateful for their continued support, which will enable us to build on this work through to December 2028.

You can read our progress reports here:

Southwest Immigration Alliance- 23-24 Progress Report

Southwest Immigration Alliance- 24-25 Progress Report