EnglishIt is a criminal offence for a person to provide immigration advice or services in the UK unless their organisation is regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or is otherwise covered by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Members of certain professional bodies may give immigration advice without registering with OISC.
These include:
- General Council of the Bar
- Law Society of England and Wales
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
- Faculty of Advocates
- Law Society of Scotland
- General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland
- Law Society of Northern Ireland
It is imperative to make sure that the person representing you is qualified to give advice.The following article (source: gov.uk) is another example of unscrupulous people passing themselves off as qualified immigration advisers.
Press release
From: Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration
First published: 15 January 2015
Part of: Securing borders and reducing immigration, Providing better information and protection for consumers, Borders and immigration, + others
Moldovan accountant admits providing unregulated immigration advice.
Fined £2,000 for 8 counts of providing illegal advice
Tatiana Balan, aged 36 years, a Moldovan national living in Kingsmead Avenue, Hendon, London NW9 7NP, pleaded guilty at City of London Magistrates’ Court to eight charges of providing unregulated immigration advice and was today fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £2,430 costs.
The offences related to applicants obtaining work and residents permits. She traded as Quickbook Taxation, Hendon.
Between January 2011 and September 2013, she submitted over 400 work permit applications to the Home Office mainly for Romanian and Moldovian nationals. This was prior to the change in January 2014 of the immigration rules, allowing Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to exercise their Treaty Rights.
Sentencing her, the Magistrate commented that whilst he accepted she had not profited financially, nor had she prejudiced the lives of the applicants, at the time she was involved in these activities it was against the law.
Speaking about the decision, the Immigration Services Commissioner, Suzanne McCarthy said, “ We have clear standards outlining what we expect in terms of the fitness and competence of regulated advisers. Ms Balan chose to operate outside the law. I am delighted with the outcome of this case, and I hope it sends a clear message to other people considering providing immigration advice – either act within the law or you will find yourself in court.”