Check on proper authorisation for immigration work

News

03 December 2020

Are you a solicitor, REL or RFL working in the immigration advice and services field?

You may already know that you can only provide immigration advice and services to the public from regulated organisations, which are:

• organisations regulated by us, the Bar Standards Board or CILEx Regulation
• non-commercial advice services, such as law centres, when they are regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC)

Following consultation in spring 2020, we have updated the immigration provisions in our Authorisation of Individuals Regulations, which makes clear that you may provide immigration advice and services to the public from other organisations that are regulated by the OISC.

To do so you must be qualified under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 (in addition to your authorisation from us to practise as a solicitor, REL or RFL), which can be achieved by gaining authorisation from the OISC to work within an OISC registered organisation.  

Find out more by reading the OISC's guidance.