Who can provide immigration advice in the UK?

Every now and then, we see horror stories of clients who have received bad immigration advice from somebody who is not registered to advise them in the first place. We have had to try to pick up the pieces, often several years down the line, after an unregulated rogue has told a client to take a certain course of action which has had devastating questions. 

One of the major problems here is that it is very difficult to seek redress after the negligent advice has been given. Who do you complain to if you have received bad advice from somebody with no qualifications or professional regulation? You can’t complain to the SRA, BSB or Legal Ombudsman because the person isn’t a solicitor or barrister. Often the only option is a private civil claim which is a stab in the dark to say the least. People who offer immigration advice without being regulated are committing a crime, but that often won’t help you in the moment.

This is why it’s very important to know who is allowed to give immigration advice. It is only when a person is properly regulated that you can feel assured that if anything goes wrong, you can seek redress. 

When we talk about “immigration advice”, what we mean is providing specific advice to an individual in relation to their personal immigration status. In other words, if I told you what type of visa you should apply for, I would be giving you UK immigration advice. This is different to giving general explanations as to the state of the law, which is not “immigration advice”. 

In order to give immigration advice in the UK, you have to be one of the following:

1. An OISC registered immigration adviser.

The OISC is the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. They regulate immigration advisers and ensure that they are fit and competent to act in their client’s best interests. 

2. People who are members of the following professional bodies listed in the Immigration Act 1999:
   1. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
   2. The Faculty of Advocates
   3. The Law Society of Scotland
   4. The General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
   5. The Law Society of Northern Ireland

3. Solicitors of barristers

This is where we come in. Here at Imperium Chambers, we have a dedicated team of fully qualified barristers who are able to provide you with Immigration advice. We have a team of specialised immigration barristers who have been working in their field for many years. We are constantly expanding and hope to be welcoming more barristers soon. You can be sure that if you instruct us to give you legal advice that you will be in the best of hands.

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