Adviser behaviour

9. An adviser must always act in their client's best interests and put their interests before the adviser's own, subject to regulatory and legal requirements.

10. An adviser must recognise that some clients, as a consequence of illness or traumatic experience, may be unable to provide a full account of events pertaining to their case. An adviser must aid such clients in seeking appropriate assistance including obtaining at an early stage reports which may be required as part of the proper handling of the client's case.

11. An adviser must ensure that the client receives a full explanation, using an interpreter to explain if necessary, the implications of their position and any proposed course of action. This advice and any instructions must be confirmed in writing.

12. An adviser must not abuse their position in respect of a client or take any advantage of the client's vulnerability.

13. An adviser must act in accordance with the laws of the UK.

An adviser must at all times:

1. show due respect, politeness and courtesy to their client, the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and the Commissioner;
2. act objectively and fairly with respect to the client;
3. be prepared to provide - e.g. to a member of staff of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, immigration judge or government immigration and nationality staff, including those at posts abroad - identification and confirmation of their authorisation by the OISC to provide immigration advice or immigration services under the Act at the authorised level;
4. not knowingly, recklessly or negligently mislead those mentioned at (a) to (c) above, nor knowingly, recklessly or negligently permit themselves to be used in any deception;
5. not seek to abuse any procedure operating in the UK in connection with immigration or asylum, including any appellate or other judicial procedure; and
6. not advise any person to do something which would amount to such abuse

Confidentiality

14. An adviser must have a procedure in place for ensuring client confidentiality. They must keep the affairs of their clients and all information relating to their clients confidential, except where the adviser is compelled to disclose information by reason of a legal or regulatory obligation.

Conflict of interest

15. An adviser must explain fully and clearly to the client any circumstances in which they might have any personal interest or advantage in acting for the client.

16. Unless the adviser's client has consented in writing with full knowledge of the facts, an adviser must not act where there is a real or potential conflict of interest between them and the client or between two or more clients.

Competence and training

17. An adviser operating at any given level of activity and category must have the relevant knowledge, competencies, resources and information sources as set out in the most recently published version of the Commissioner's Guidance on Competence.

18. An adviser must have and continue to have the necessary skills, knowledge and competencies to meet their client's needs, and must satisfy the Commissioner of this via the processes and systems approved by the Commissioner for this purpose.

19. An adviser must be able to show that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, competencies and resources, and that these are kept under review in order to ensure that they are up to date. Advisers are required to review their performance regularly.

20. An adviser must not act in a reckless or negligent manner.

21. An adviser must have ready access to up-to-date information on immigration law and practice, and a written procedure as to how they will keep themselves up to date.

22. Advisers must have a training plan, which must be documented and regularly reviewed.

23. An adviser must be able to demonstrate to the Commissioner that their knowledge has been kept up to date by the production of a training log or similar appropriate document, and must ensure their continuous professional development in accordance with any scheme as may be prescribed by the Commissioner from time to time.

Changing level of competence

24. An adviser who is seeking either to expand their area of expertise or to increase their level of competence should seek effective supervision. Authorisation of any such supervision, including the supervision plan, must be obtained from the OISC prior to any such arrangements being put into effect.

25. Any individual adviser who is seeking to expand their level of competence should be supervised by a regulated adviser at that higher level or above or by an otherwise suitably qualified person.

26. Advisers seeking to act in a supervisory role must satisfy the OISC that they:

1. have at least two years' recent and ongoing relevant experience in immigration advice and/or services; and
2. have experience of managing and/or supervising others.

27. A supervisor must:

1. be co-located with the person being supervised by them and readily accessible to them;
2. oversee the allocation of cases to the supervisee;
3. monitor the progress of the supervisee's cases;
4. provide both general and specific guidance and assistance to the supervisee;
5. review the cases conducted by the supervisee and, having conducted such review, require the supervisee, as necessary, to take corrective action; and
6. spend on average a minimum of 12 hours per week supervising the supervisee while continuing to satisfactorily maintain their own caseload.

28. A supervisor or other competent person must undertake random sampling of the supervisee's work in order to assess the quality of the supervisee's advice. The sample must be sufficient, along with other indicators, for the supervisor or other competent person to be able adequately to assess the overall quality of the advice the supervisee has given. A record of the conclusions of this sampling must be retained on both the case file of the client concerned and the supervisee's personal file, and made available to the Commissioner upon request.