Guidance on Competence

Introduction

The Immigration Services Commissioner has a duty to ensure that those who provide immigration advice or immigration services are competent to do so. This Guidance on Competence sets out the standards advisers should meet in order to be considered competent. It is the third edition and has been revised in the light of feedback from the immigration sector and our experience during our first three years of operation.

What do we mean by competence?

When we use this term, we mean the skills and knowledge that each adviser must demonstrate in order to show that they are able to provide good quality advice and services. The detailed competence requirements are contained in this document.

The OISC measures competence in two ways: through the application process and on audit. Competence is assessed on application in two ways. First, applicants are required to submit a statement of competence in which they can demonstrate they meet competence requirements in different ways, for example the number of years experience they have, professional development they may have undertaken (this will be the OISC's main focus in the case of more inexperienced advisers) and what access they have to updated information on changes in law and procedures. Second, applicants are now expected to undergo formal written competence assessment. At Level 1, this consists of a series of multiple-choice questions that potential advisers can take online and which are designed to give the OISC a clear picture of their level of knowledge and any particular areas of strength or for improvement.

On audit, OISC staff will look at client files to take an initial view as to the competence of the adviser. They have access to expert immigration consultants where they wish to look into an adviser's competence in greater depth.

OISC advice levels

The OISC has divided immigration advice and services into three levels of activity depending on the complexity of the work involved. The competence requirements increase with the complexity of the work. In this way the OISC aims to ensure that advisers who provide only initial advice may continue to do so. Details of the types of work permitted at each level

Are you providing immigration advice or immigration services?

The definition of immigration advice and immigration services is set out in section 82 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Immigration advice:

relates to an individual
is given in connection with a relevant immigration matter.

Immigration services means making representations on behalf of a particular individual:

in civil proceedings before a court, tribunal or immigration judge in the United Kingdom
in correspondence with a Minister of the Crown or a government department

Please note that the OISC regulates only those who provide immigration advice and services that address an individual's particular circumstances. If your work is restricted to signposting or the provision of general information, you do not need to apply to the OISC for regulation.

The following are examples of the kinds of work we do not regulate:

providing general information or leaflets on the immigration and asylum systems
directing individuals in need of immigration advice to an adviser.

Please contact us if you have any queries about whether you come within the OISC scheme.

Summary of OISC levels of advice

Summary of the work permitted at each OISC level

Detailed explanation of each level begins

OISC levels

The three levels of immigration advice that the OISC uses are as follows:

Level 1 - Initial advice
Level 2 - Casework
Level 3 - Advocacy and representation.

Additional information

Levels and types of work

Advisers working at a particular level do not need to be competent in all the categories of work permitted at that level. For example, at Level 2, someone providing immigration advice and/or services on nationality issues does not have to be competent at Level 2 in EU and EEA work. However, all advisers at Levels 2 and 3 must be competent in all areas permitted at Level 1, regardless of the areas of their competence at Level 2 or 3. This means, for example, that a business immigration specialist working at Level 3 is expected to be competent in nationality or EEA work at Level 1.

Also, advisers do not need to undertake all aspects of the work permitted to obtain permission to provide advice or services at a particular level. For example, at Level 2, an adviser is allowed to lodge appeals but does not have to do this in order to be permitted to work at this level.

Working under supervision

Code 56 of the Commissioner's Code of Standards contains a general prohibition on advisers working beyond the level at which they have been registered.

Nevertheless, the Commissioner recognises that the most effective means by which advisers can move up from one level of competence to another, or from one area of work to another, is through training while being effectively supervised. Therefore, advisers are allowed to work up to the next level if being supervised in accordance with Codes 25-28 of the Code of Standards.

The level of supervision necessary will vary depending on the training and experience of the supervisee, but initially at least it should be very close. The supervisor should be on the same premises as the supervisee and the latter should be submitting all work produced at the higher level to the supervisor for examination and correction. There must be a system in place for ensuring that corrective action is taken where necessary and the entire process must be properly documented.

The supervisor should actively monitor or oversee the work of the supervisee, not simply serve as a source of second-tier advice.

It is envisaged that there should be some system of staged progression involving a series of assessments of the supervisee's performance to determine whether he or she is ready to move to the next stage. As the supervisee's training progresses, so the degree of supervision can be reduced.

For example, where a Level 1 adviser is being trained to accompany clients to Home Office interviews, the adviser may begin by accompanying a senior adviser, then attending in the company of a senior adviser, and finally going unaccompanied but being fully briefed before and debriefed afterwards and the supervisor checking the interview record.

It is to be expected that this process will generally result in the supervisee becoming fully competent at the higher level. It should not usually become a permanent arrangement.

Code of Standards

This document should be read alongside the Code of Standards. This details the organisational standards that the OISC has set for advisers. There are some sections of the Code that relate closely to providing competent advice and services.

Advisers should ensure that they comply with the following:

Referrals and signposting, Codes 41-47
Supervision, Codes 25-28
Record-keeping and file management, Codes 81-89
Client confidentiality, Codes 14 and 90
Conflict of interest, Codes 15-16
Client's interest, Code 9
Competence, Codes 17-20
Training and resources, Codes 21-23.

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