A rant about a completely shit side of the immigration system that rarely sees the light of day: dodgy Immigration Advisers. Not to be confused with immigration lawyers*, these parasitic lowlifes profiteer off the desperate and vulnerable and they ruin lives. 1/9

An immigration adviser can hang their tile out after just three months ‘on the job’ experience. They attend some training, pass a test and they’ve got a licence to devastate. They know, from that point on, they’re pretty much untouchable. 2/9

If an immigration adviser screws up their job, it’s the immigrant that suffers. The adviser just moves on to the next victim, who is eagerly waiting to hand over their very last penny for some guidance through the indecipherable maze that is the current Immigration Rules. 3/9

Immigration advisers are overseen by the OISC which is in the dictionary under ‘ornamental’. Looks good but no value. Nice but useless. Seriously, an adviser has to do the nursing equivalent of a lethal dose of insulin to lose their registration or be effectively censured. 4/9

When an immigration adviser makes a mistake, there is no Home Office leeway given. Even if the government’s own organisation, the OISC, provides the immigrant with an 81 point document finding the adviser negligent and incompetent and fully responsible for the fatal flaws. 5/9

Most times, when an immigration adviser screws up, it goes unnoticed. 9 times out of 10, the immigrant is either unaware the adviser has made an error, or doesn’t know the process, or doesn’t have the resources, or is deported, or can’t be bothered. And why would they? 6/9

An immigrant can have an OISC determination and concrete evidence against an immigration adviser, have the advisers own lawyer saying the case is indefensible, their insurance company ready to pay out compensation and still not give the OK because it will up their premiums. 7/9

In the meantime, the immigration adviser is free to go on charging thousands of pounds in fees to give inept and incompetent advice with no repercussions. And there is no incentive to change this, because it serves the governments agenda – reducing net migration. 8/9

*Please don’t think that this thread in any way includes the absolutely wonderful cohort of Immigration Lawyers who give their souls to better an immigrants journey and are ably and scrupulously governed by the SRA. They’re a completely different species. 9/9

Addendum: We have a great lawyer on retainer and are here for the long haul.