Access to Interpretation and Translation in Immigration Detention

For many years the people GDWG supports have been raising their concerns about their difficulties accessing interpretation and translation in immigration detention. People held in immigration detention are foreign nationals and the vast majority do not have English as their first language. Despite this, people receive documents that are not translated and frequently tell us that they are told important information without an interpreter. We also hear many reports of poor quality interpretation. We have grown increasingly concerned about lack of adequate interpreter services in detention and the impact it has on the people we support.

Thanks to funding from Lloyds Bank Foundation we have carried out research into why interpreter services are not always considered to be effective by the people using them and the impact this has.

This collage was made by a person who was previously detained in an immigration detention centre. These collages depict what it is like to not be able to access an interpreter in detention.

Interpreting Best Practice Guide

Through our research we identified that a lack of training on how to work with interpreters was a key factor. Most organisations do not have a standard training for their staff on how to use interpreters and it is a resource not all organisations can afford. We therefore wrote an Interpreting Best Practice Guide. In this guide we outline basic information from our frontline experience of how to effectively use interpreters, what information should be provided to the interpreter and how conversations with interpreters should be approached. 

Our thanks to Karris Hamilton and Dr Teresa Pilgrim for their work on the Guide. 

Our thanks to Tim Peters for his design work on the Guide. 

Click here is the Best Practice Guide

How to Guide: Interpreter Access for Migrants

Our research has revealed that support staff and individuals alike are often not aware of their rights in regards to accessing interpreters. This is true not just in immigration detention settings, but across a wide range of public bodies and other organisations. We found that many public bodies and public facing organisations do not make their policies on access to interpreters easily accessible to people who need interpreter services. 

Dr Teresa Pilgrim therefore worked with GDWG to create the 'How to Guide: Interpreter Access for Migrants: Legal Rights & Guidelines.' This Guide explains the policies that describe entitlement to an interpreter in the NHS, Home Office, Criminal Justice System, Department of Works & Pension, Local Authorities and Banking settings. The Guide is a tool for anyone supporting a person using one of these agencies and will be invaluable if a person is refused an interpreter on request. The Guide has been tested in the community and we have received reports of occasions when quoting policy from the Guide has resulted in interpreter provision being offered when it was initially refused. 

Our thanks to Dr Teresa Pilgrim for work on the Guide. 

Our thanks to Tim Peters for his design work on the Guide. 

An easy read version of the Guide and versions of the Guide in other languages will soon be available for people with English as a second language here. 

Silenced by the System: Access to Interpreters in Immigration Detention

Karris Hamilton has produced a research report based on casework records, on hundreds of conversations with detained people and through focus groups with people in detention all informing us about the issues people experience and what change is required to improve communication for detained people. Thanks to all the GDWG team who have worked with Karris sharing case studies and their experience to make the research possible. Thanks to everyone in detention who has trusted GDWG to represent their experiences and shared the detail of their communication struggles before, during and after detention. 

The Report will soon be available to download here.

Our Commitment

GDWG is committed to using interpreters to assist with communication and building trust with the people we support. We believe it is discriminatory not to use interpreters for effective communication. In 2024, 27% of calls to people in detention made by GDWG caseworkers were made using an interpreter.

Spring 2026 Forum

Dipti Nagpaul is organising a Forum on the issues of interpreter provision in Spring 2026. To register your interest to deliver a paper or to attend, please email Dipti@gdwg.org.uk for more information.