OISC vs IAA: what changed for UK immigration advisers

This explainer is for owners, advisers and compliance leads in UK immigration advice organisations who still see both names on letters, websites and guidance. The rename took effect on 16 January 2025. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 then received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025, and only parts of its immigration adviser schedule are in force on 8 October 2026. We build Filyst, case management software for immigration firms, so the last section says which records the change leaves as they were. The sections cover what the IAA is, what the rename changed, a side-by-side comparison, the 2025 Act, which powers are in force and the penalty rules waiting to start.

What is the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA)?

The Immigration Advice Authority is the UK body that regulates immigration advisers, headed by the Immigration Services Commissioner. Section 83(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999creates that office: “There is to be an Immigration Services Commissioner”. Part 5 of the 1999 Act is the law the IAA works under.

Section 84(1) of the 1999 Actsays no person may provide immigration advice or immigration services unless they are a “qualified person”. Section 84(2) lists who qualifies: a person registered with the Commissioner, a person authorised by a designated professional body or a designated qualifying regulator, and a person acting on behalf of and under the supervision of one of those. The IAA’s About pagesays it regulates “over 3,700 individual immigration advisers and 2,000 organisations”, and does not license solicitors and barristers who are regulated by their own professional body.

The same page lists the powers the IAA holds today: limit or vary the levels of work advisers may do, lay a disciplinary charge, apply for a restraining order or an injunction, prosecute illegal immigration advice and illegal advertising of it, enter an adviser’s premises and seize an adviser’s records. The UK IAA is a different body from New Zealand’s Immigration Advisers Authority, which uses the same initials.

What changed when the OISC became the IAA?

The name changed and the legal basis did not. The gov.uk news story of 16 January 2025says the transition to the IAA took effect from Thursday 16 January 2025 and that “All existing OISC registrations and arrangements remain valid”.

The same announcement sets three core objectives: regulation (ensuring registered advisers comply with established standards), enforcement (disrupting illegal advice-giving) and promoting best practice (developing the sector with advisers and stakeholders). The statutory office stayed the Immigration Services Commissioner. The Code of Standards 2024now carries the IAA name, and its introduction still defines “the Commissioner” as the Immigration Services Commissioner.

OISC vs IAA: what is the same and what differs?

The regulator, its legal office, its registrations and its Code are the same; the name, the Commissioner and part of the statute have changed. The table compares the position before 16 January 2025 with the position on 8 October 2026.

The Code row rests on the gov.uk Code of standards page, which lists “Code of standards 2024 (with effect from 1 September 2024)”; its change history shows the 2024 Code uploaded on 24 April 2024 and guidance notes on 30 July 2024. The Commissioner row rests on the gov.uk news story of 17 December 2025: Gaon Hart took over the role on 12 December 2025, succeeding John Tuckett.

What does the 2025 Act add?

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 adds suspension, limits on working under supervision, monetary penalties, a refund and compensation power, a new fee power and a power to change which matters are regulated. Section 43says Schedule 1 “contains amendments of Part 5 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999”. The Act received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025.

The Home Office impact assessment, dated 7 May 2025 and written before the Bill was passed, describes the aims: financial sanctions for unregulated advisers, financial sanctions for regulated advisers who breach the Code, and a mechanism to require fee refunds or compensation for advice seekers. It says the intention was to “engage with the sector on the level of fines” before setting them in secondary legislation. That is an engagement plan, not a formal consultation, and the enacted Act then set a ceiling of its own.

Which of the new powers are in force?

Not the main ones. On 8 October 2026 the suspension, supervision, penalty and refund powers in Schedule 1have no commencement date; only the Commissioner appointment rules, the power to amend “relevant matters” and the fee power are fully in force.

Two provisions set this. Section 65(3)(e)brought paragraphs 16 to 18 into force on Royal Assent, and section 65(3)(f) brought in every provision of the Act “so far as it confers power to make regulations or an order”. The Commencement No. 2 Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/59), regulation 2(d) and (e), brought paragraphs 2, 3, 12 and 13 into force on 2 February 2026. Commencement Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 (SI 2025/1318, SI 2026/163, SI 2026/683 and SI 2026/766) bring no further part of section 43 or Schedule 1 into force.

The fee power is covered in IAA fees 2026: registration and renewal costs, and the complaints changes in paragraph 14 amend the scheme described in IAA complaints procedure: what your firm must have.

How large can an IAA penalty be?

£15,000, once the power starts. New section 92C(7)(b) of the 1999 Act, inserted by Schedule 1 paragraph 9, says a penalty “must not exceed” £15,000, and section 92C(8) lets the Secretary of State change that figure by regulations.

Section 92C names three groups who could receive a penalty notice:

• a person who was registered at the time of the act or omission (s.92C(2)), for failing to comply with the Code of Standards or the duty to assist a complaint investigation, failing to comply with any other requirement under Part 5, or obstructing an inspection without reasonable excuse (s.92C(1));
• a person who is not registered, for failing in the duty to assist a complaint investigation (s.92C(4));
• an unqualified person, for an offence under section 91 or 92B (s.92C(5)).

A penalty is either a fixed amount set in regulations or a variable amount set by the Commissioner in the notice (s.92C(3)). For a section 92B offence the ceiling is the maximum fine on summary conviction instead of £15,000 (s.92C(7)(a)). No regulations under section 92C(3)(a) appear on legislation.gov.uk as at 8 October 2026.

Section 92G says the Commissioner must publish guidance on when fixed and variable penalties are likely and what sets the amount, and must consult before preparing it. Separately, new paragraph 9(1D) of Schedule 5 caps a refund or compensation order on a complaint at £250,000; that order applies where the adviser was not a “relevant authorised person” as defined in paragraph 9(1C).

What should registered advisers do now?

No re-registration is needed, so the work is keeping the Code evidence complete. Where letters, a website or a complaints procedure name the regulator, the current name is the Immigration Advice Authority. The Code that a future penalty would enforce is unchanged, and our IAA Code of Standards guide walks through it; the IAA audit checklist turns each Principle into evidence an auditor asks for.

• Replace “OISC” with “Immigration Advice Authority” where client documents name the regulator.
• Keep client files and records for at least six years (Code 5.10), as explained in how long UK immigration advisers keep client records.
• Watch legislation.gov.uk for a commencement instrument that names Schedule 1 paragraphs 4 to 11 or 14.
• Watch the IAA’s pages for the penalty guidance section 92G requires before penalties start.

Building Filyst taught us that the rename touches labels, not records. Filyst sets a retention date when a case closes, six years by default for UK firms, and sends a reminder when destruction is due. It rejects a stage sign-off by the same person who did the work. Neither depends on the regulator’s name. The software for immigration firms page covers what we build; a person at the firm still decides what the Code requires.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. gov.uk: Enhanced agenda and identity for UK immigration advice regulator (16 January 2025)
2. Immigration Advice Authority: About us
3. Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 83
4. Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 84
5. Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, section 43
6. Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, Schedule 1
7. Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, Schedule 1 paragraph 9 (inserts sections 92C to 92H)
8. Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025, section 65 (commencement)
9. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/59)
10. gov.uk: Code of standards (publication page and change history)
11. IAA, Code of Standards 2024 (PDF)
12. IAA registration explained
13. gov.uk: Gaon Hart appointed as new Immigration Services Commissioner (17 December 2025)
14. Impact assessment: increased powers for the Immigration Services Commissioner (7 May 2025)