LAST REVIEWED: MAY 2026
TL;DR- OISC is the UK statutory regulator for immigration advice and services.
- It was created by Part V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
- Authorisation is granted at Levels 1, 2 and 3 across defined work categories.
- Solicitors regulated by the SRA are exempt from OISC registration.
Anyone who pays for help with a UK immigration matter has the right to know whether the person providing that help is authorised to do so. This guide sets out what the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner is, what its remit covers, and how to check whether a particular adviser is permitted to give advice for reward.
What the OISC Is and Why It Exists
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, commonly abbreviated to OISC, is the statutory regulator created by Part V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Its role is to ensure that anyone giving immigration advice or services in the United Kingdom is competent, qualified, and acting in the client's best interests. The regulator publishes its register, codes of standards, and complaints procedures at oisc.gov.uk.
Under section 84 of the 1999 Act, providing immigration advice for reward without authorisation is a criminal offence. Two categories of person are permitted to act: those authorised by the OISC at a specific level, and those exempt because they belong to a designated professional body such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board, or CILEx Regulation. The exemption recognises that members of those bodies are already subject to comparable professional oversight.
OISC authorisation is granted at three levels and is restricted to specific work categories. Levels reflect the complexity of casework permitted, while categories cover areas such as immigration, asylum, and protection. Advisers and the firms they work for must display their registration details and only act within the scope of their authorisation.
How OISC Levels Work in Practice
Level 1 covers initial advice and applications that do not involve a substantive appeal or judicial review. Typical Level 1 instructions include straightforward applications such as a standard visitor visa, an in-country extension where the requirements are clearly met on the published policy, or a registration application that fits a published category.
Level 2 authorises caseworkers to handle complex casework and First-tier Tribunal appeals up to the point of preparing the case for hearing. Many refused student, spouse, and work visa applications, as well as deportation responses and discretionary leave applications, fall into Level 2 because they involve interpretation of the Immigration Rules rather than a straight match against published criteria.
Level 3 authorisation covers advocacy at the First-tier and Upper Tribunal, judicial review preparation, and the most complex casework. A Level 3 adviser may represent a client in court within the OISC framework, though many complex matters are nevertheless referred to solicitors or barristers because of overlap with reserved legal activities.
How to Check the OISC Register
Anyone can search the OISC register at oisc.gov.uk to confirm whether an adviser or firm is authorised. The public search returns the firm name, head-office address, the level and category of authorisation held, and the date authorisation was granted. The same record will show whether authorisation has lapsed or been withdrawn, which is important if a previous adviser's status has changed.
The GOV.UK service at gov.uk/find-an-immigration-adviser combines OISC-regulated firms with those exempt through a designated professional body, allowing a search by postcode and area of advice. This is the official combined directory and is the recommended starting point when looking for an adviser in a particular city or borough.
For solicitors, the SRA register at solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk shows the firm's authorisation, named regulated individuals, and any current restrictions or conditions. A firm appearing on the SRA register does not need a separate OISC registration to give immigration advice, because SRA-regulated solicitors are exempt under section 84(4) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
The Difference Between OISC and SRA Regulation
OISC authorises individuals and firms that are not regulated by another designated body. The SRA, the Bar Standards Board, and CILEx Regulation each have their own routes to permitting immigration advice. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 lists these bodies in section 84 as exempt from the OISC regime, on the basis that their own professional rules already cover competence, conduct, and complaints.
From the client's perspective the practical effect is the same: a regulated adviser must hold professional indemnity insurance, keep client funds in a separate account, document the scope of instructions, and operate a written complaints procedure. The route to redress differs, with OISC matters going through the OISC complaints scheme and SRA matters going through the firm, the Legal Ombudsman, and the SRA.
A firm cannot pick and choose between regulators. A solicitors' firm that holds SRA authorisation is regulated by the SRA whether or not it also lists OISC accreditation for any of its non-solicitor caseworkers. Non-solicitor caseworkers within an SRA firm are supervised under the SRA framework rather than holding their own OISC registration, although individuals may transfer between sectors during their career.
Complaints and Enforcement
Every client of an immigration adviser has the right to complain. For OISC-regulated firms, the first step is the firm's internal complaints procedure, which it must publish under the OISC Code of Standards. If the response is unsatisfactory, the complaint can be escalated to the OISC complaints scheme, which can investigate professional conduct and impose sanctions ranging from warnings to removal from the register.
For SRA-regulated firms, the equivalent route is the firm's internal procedure, then the Legal Ombudsman for service complaints and the SRA for conduct issues. The Legal Ombudsman publishes complaint decisions and can require firms to pay compensation up to a published limit. Both regulators record outcomes publicly, which can be checked before instructing a firm.
Where a firm appears to be operating without authorisation, the OISC has a dedicated enforcement function and accepts reports through its website. Unauthorised practice can be reported alongside any complaint a client has about service or fees, and reports can be made anonymously where there is a concern about retaliation or intimidation.
When the OISC Acts on Unauthorised Practice
Acting as an unregulated immigration adviser for reward is a criminal offence under section 91 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, punishable on conviction by imprisonment of up to two years and an unlimited fine. The OISC has a dedicated enforcement team that investigates reports, gathers evidence, and works with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service where prosecution is appropriate.
Common patterns the OISC reports include unregistered agents offering to lodge applications via online forms while charging significant fees, individuals advertising in community-language press without disclosing regulation status, and firms holding themselves out as immigration specialists while their formal authorisation has lapsed.
Reports can be submitted through the OISC website. The regulator publishes annual enforcement statistics that show prosecutions, cautions, and other outcomes, and a prospective client can check whether a particular adviser has been the subject of past enforcement action by searching the public records before instructing them.
Further Reading on UK Immigration Regulation
For readers who want to dig deeper into the regulatory framework, the OISC publishes its Code of Standards, complaints scheme, and annual enforcement statistics on oisc.gov.uk. The Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes the SRA Code of Conduct, the SRA Accounts Rules, and the SRA Transparency Rules on sra.org.uk. The full text of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, including Part V which created the OISC regime, is available on legislation.gov.uk. Reading the source legislation alongside the regulator's published guidance is often the fastest way to understand where the boundaries of authorised practice fall and how each regulator has interpreted its statutory remit.
The Legal Aid Agency publishes its directory of contracted providers on gov.uk and reports annually on legal aid spending, including the volume of immigration and asylum cases supported. The Law Society maintains the Immigration and Asylum Law Accreditation Scheme and publishes the assessment criteria on its website. The Immigration Law Practitioners' Association is a long-established membership body for immigration lawyers and publishes practitioner guidance and policy commentary on ilpa.org.uk. Each of these resources provides a different angle on the immigration adviser market, and together they support a more informed decision when comparing firms or assessing the advice received in a current matter.
For the underlying statistics on immigration decisions, the Home Office publishes quarterly immigration statistics on gov.uk, which include data on visa grants, refusals, appeals, and removals. These statistics provide important context when assessing how often particular categories of application are refused and how often refusals are overturned on appeal. Combined with regulator data on the adviser market, the statistics give a fuller picture of how UK immigration casework operates in practice. The tribunals service also publishes its own statistics covering immigration appeals, including allowance rates by category and average waiting times, which is useful context for any conversation with an adviser about case timetables and realistic expectations.
How Regulator Decisions Are Published and Where to Read Them
The OISC publishes its enforcement and disciplinary outcomes through its website, with annual reports summarising the volume of complaints received, the volume upheld, and the sanctions imposed. The reports also describe the patterns of unauthorised practice the regulator has investigated, which evolves over time as immigration policy and the adviser market change. Reading the most recent annual report alongside the public register gives a sense of both the current state of regulation and the issues the OISC is most actively pursuing.
The SRA publishes disciplinary decisions in its Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal section, with searchable summaries of cases brought against individual solicitors and firms. The Legal Ombudsman publishes service complaint decisions covering all areas of solicitor work, including immigration, and these too are searchable by firm name. Where a firm under consideration has been the subject of recent decisions, the published summaries are a direct and authoritative source of detail about what went wrong and how the regulator or ombudsman saw the issue.
None of these published outcomes is by itself decisive. Most large firms accumulate some complaints over time and the question is whether the pattern indicates a systemic issue or a small number of isolated matters in a high-volume practice. Reading the underlying decisions, rather than relying on aggregate counts, gives a more informed view of how a firm operates in practice and how it responds when something goes wrong.
Disclaimer
The information on this page is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Kaeltripton.com is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or authorised by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner. Always verify an adviser's authorisation status on the official OISC register at oisc.gov.uk before instructing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the OISC a government department?
The OISC is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Home Office. It was established by the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and operates independently of immigration enforcement and decision-making functions within the Home Office itself.
Can a friend or family member give me immigration advice for free?
Yes. Section 84 of the 1999 Act restricts only advice given in the course of business or for reward. Family members, friends, and unpaid volunteers may help with applications, subject to the usual rules about not making false statements to the Home Office.
Does the OISC handle visa decisions?
No. The OISC regulates advisers. UK Visas and Immigration, part of the Home Office, decides applications. The OISC has no power to overturn a refusal or to direct UKVI to issue a visa.
Where is the OISC register published?
The public OISC register is published at oisc.gov.uk. Search results show the firm or adviser name, address, level of authorisation, and the categories of work covered.
Can a Level 1 adviser take on an appeal?
No. Level 1 authorisation is restricted to initial advice and applications without a substantive appeal. To handle a First-tier Tribunal appeal, an adviser needs Level 2 authorisation or higher, or must be an exempt person such as a solicitor or barrister.
How long does OISC authorisation last?
Authorisation is granted for one year at a time and must be renewed. Continued authorisation depends on the adviser meeting the OISC Code of Standards and any continuing professional development requirements set by the regulator.
How This Was Verified
This article draws on the following primary sources:
