Individuals illegally posing as immigration lawyers or advisers could soon face fines of up to £15,000 under new measures set out in the government’s
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Currently, offering immigration advice without proper registration with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a recognised legal body is a criminal offence punishable by jail. Under the new legislation, the IAA will gain additional powers to impose fines of up to £15,000 on fraudulent firms and individuals operating unlawfully as immigration advisers.
There is mounting evidence that fake lawyers are acting as intermediaries, helping people abuse the immigration system to stay in the UK or profiting from vulnerable migrants by giving poor or fraudulent advice.
The new rules will also close a legal loophole that allows individuals banned from giving immigration advice to continue working under "supervision." This change ensures that those prohibited from practicing cannot simply reappear elsewhere under different arrangements.
This crackdown is part of the government’s broader effort to create a fair asylum system where the rules are respected and properly enforced. It follows an increase in illegal working enforcement and is aimed at protecting vulnerable migrants while strengthening the security of the immigration system.
The measures will be proposed as amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is designed to tackle criminal activity across the board, including empowering law enforcement with counter-terror powers to dismantle dangerous people-smuggling gangs.
Minister for Border Security, Dame Angela Eagle, said:
“Shameless individuals offering immigration advice completely illegally must be held to account.
That is why we are introducing these tough financial penalties for rogue firms and advisers, better protecting the integrity of our immigration system as well as vulnerable people in genuine need of advice, as we restore order to our asylum system through the Plan for Change.
This will build on the vital work of the Immigration Advice Authority in regulating the immigration advice sector”.
Fake advisers are increasingly turning to social media to find victims. For example, in October 2024, Sukhwinder Singh Kang was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after pretending to be a registered Level 3 immigration adviser with fake qualifications.
Kang exploited Facebook support groups for migrants, despite having little actual immigration knowledge. Claiming he had 'special access' to the Home Office, he scammed victims out of thousands in advance fees and stole their personal documents. He even invented fake staff and a bogus office address to appear credible, setting up regular payment plans with his victims.
When victims realised their visa applications were stalled, Kang blamed emergencies or delivery issues, promising full refunds that never materialized.
Under the new Bill, the IAA will also gain powers to:
- Immediately suspend advisers suspected of serious misconduct or harm.
- Force former advisers to cooperate with investigations into past misconduct, preventing them from dodging accountability by simply quitting.
These measures will support ongoing work by the Home Office’s Professional Enabler Disruptions team (PED), which uncovers criminal operations in the immigration advice sector. For instance, in November 2024, PED found a rogue London-based "lawyer" submitting hundreds of immigration applications without the supervising firm's knowledge. These fraudulent submissions wasted official resources and harmed legitimate cases. Following PED's findings, legal regulatory bodies have now launched investigations. Photo by Steve Cadman, Wikimedia commons.