Pointers for Immigration Advisors
Immigration advisers require DBS Checks and are supervised by OISC, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. There are several standards made by the OISC that must be met to become certified to give advice on immigration.
Immigration advisers
The job of an immigration advisor, just as the job’s name suggests, is to supply advice about immigration; helping many cases including: asylum claims, clearance to enter or leave the UK, employment documents for immigrants, deportation, applications for bail, residency applications, applications for citizenship.
Different advisers are specialists within different areas. Depending on the case, some will require a fee but others will not.
Some advisers are certified to provide advice at three levels:
Level 1: Simple advice on immigration and immigration rules
Level 2: More difficult cases that consist of applications that are not within immigration rules
Level 3: Appeals
The advisers themselves do not make decisions for immigrants and only give advice.
Regulating immigration advisers
A government committee called the OISC controls and makes regulations for immigration advisers. The OISC was made official by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, giving them the power to take charge of supplying the UK’s immigration advice.
Giving immigration services and/or advice if not certified by the OISC or not backed up by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is a criminal offence. The OISC makes sure that certified immigration advisers can meet the required regulations, which are: having the necessary skills to give immigration advice, making sure knowledge on immigration is up to date, and to have insurance against providing low quality advice.
There is a Register of Regulated Immigration Advisers, which lists all the organisations that are controlled by the OISC.
Do immigration advisers require DBS Checks?
Yes – during the application process for being certified by the OISC, all applicants are required to give a copy of a DBS certificate that was issued within 6 months of the submission date of the OISC application.
Which DBS Check level are immigration advisers qualified for?
Individuals that want to be registered by the OISC need to get an Enhanced DBS Check carried out.
Immigration advisers do not generally need to get a barred list check done, because they do not carry out a regulated activity. The employer must send the application for a DBS Check off to the DBS for the applicant In other words, the individual cannot submit the Enhanced DBS Check Application for themselves.
