UK immigration adviser scams: check the person behind the registration number

A recommendation from a friend can help you find an adviser, but it cannot replace checking professional status. The important question is whether the specific person handling your UK immigration case is authorised for that work and genuinely connected to the organisation they name.

A certificate attached to a message is only a starting point. Independently verify the information before sending sensitive records or paying a substantial fee.

Establish who regulates the adviser

GOV.UK directs applicants to advisers registered with the Immigration Advice Authority, or members of an approved professional body. Solicitors and other legal professionals may therefore appear on a different appropriate register.

Ask for the adviser’s full name, organisation, regulator and registration reference. Search through the official regulator route, rather than a link embedded in the seller’s advertisement. If a name is absent from one directory, establish the claimed professional category before concluding that the person is unregulated.

Match the person to the organisation

The IAA’s Adviser Register can confirm an individual or organisation and show authorisation details. Its location-based Adviser Finder includes organisations that opted into that search, so the two tools serve different purposes.

Compare the published organisation details with the address, website and contact information you were given. Contact the genuine organisation independently and ask whether the named person handles your case. A valid registration entry should not be treated as proof that an unrelated messaging account belongs to that adviser.

Ask whether the adviser’s permitted scope covers your situation. A straightforward application and a complex dispute may require different levels of competence.

Put the agreement in writing

GOV.UK says an adviser must provide a letter after engagement explaining the work, charges and payment arrangements. It also recommends agreeing fees for extra work and obtaining receipts.

For your own records, clarify which application is being prepared, who will submit it, how you will review the final answers and how official correspondence will reach you. Ask what happens to your file if the relationship ends. Do not accept a vague package description as an explanation of the work.

If the relationship raises concerns

Request copies of your application, submitted evidence and correspondence. Preserve the agreement, invoices and messages, including any promises about the outcome.

The IAA accepts complaints about poor service from its registered advisers and advice from unregulated advisers; other professionals have their own complaint routes. Identify the correct regulator and obtain independent help for any approaching immigration deadline. A service complaint does not itself resolve the underlying application.