Exclusive Dodgy advisers posing illegally as immigration lawyers to face fresh crackdown under new bill By Natasha Clark Dodgy advisers posing illegally as immigration lawyers to try and game the system will face a fresh crackdown under the new immigration bill, LBC can reveal. Listen to this article Loading audio… Fake professionals who trawl Facebook for vulnerable migrants to try and find people to scam will face hefty fines of up to £15,000 each.
A new loophole will also be shut which will stop people who are banned from offering so-called “supervision” advice to try and help people to stay in the country illegally. The new moves will come as part of amendments to the government’s border security, asylum and immigration bill, that’s coming back to the Commons this week. Currently, giving immigration advice without proper registration with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), or recognised legal regulatory body, is a criminal offence which can lead to jail time.
Ministers will give them new powers to hit these fraudulent firms and individuals posing as immigration advisers with fines of up to £15,000. The Home Office believe fake lawyers are on the rise – acting as middlemen for those trying to abuse the immigration system, clogging it up for genuine asylum seekers, and trying to cash in on desperation. The watchdog will also be able to suspend advisers suspected of trying to game the system, or harm vulnerable people.
Read more: Horror as 'human remains' found in wooded area in popular seaside town, with police 'searching abandoned caravan' Read more: ‘Distracted’ dentist avoids jail after killing cycling pensioner The new laws will also come with counter-terror style powers to go after people-smuggling gangs who are sending hundreds across the Channel in small boats. More than 8,000 have arrived here in small boats this year alone, larger than for the same period last year. 'Held to account' Minister for Border Security, Dame Angela Eagle told LBC: “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." In October 2024, Sukhwinder Singh Kang was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after posing as a registered Level 3 immigration adviser with fake qualifications.
He targeted victims on Facebook support groups for migration advice, boasted about his “special access” to the home office, and scammed people out of thousands of pounds.
