The UK Home Office has unveiled draft legislation that will give the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) sweeping powers to confiscate illicit profits made by unregulated advisers posing as immigration lawyers. Using amendments to the Proceeds of Crime Act, the IAA will be able to trace, freeze and recover assets without having to rely on police support—mirroring the powers already held by other professional regulators.
Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said the crackdown is designed to protect migrants from predatory advisers who charge thousands of pounds for poor-quality or fraudulent representation. Money recovered will be reinvested in frontline border policing, including the Multi-Agency Cash Cell that targets criminal finance flows at UK ports and airports. The proposed measures follow a spate of high-profile prosecutions in which fake advisers submitted bogus visa applications, leaving employers and applicants exposed to civil penalties and removal.
For global mobility teams this represents a double benefit: genuine advisers should face less unfair competition, while sponsors gain greater reassurance that regulated representatives meet professional standards. However, employers are being urged to audit their current advisory relationships because the new powers will apply retrospectively once enacted.
A six-week consultation on the draft order opened on 22 October 2025. If approved by Parliament, the IAA expects to begin exercising confiscation powers from early 2026, with the first recovered funds earmarked for border-security technology upgrades.
Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said the crackdown is designed to protect migrants from predatory advisers who charge thousands of pounds for poor-quality or fraudulent representation. Money recovered will be reinvested in frontline border policing, including the Multi-Agency Cash Cell that targets criminal finance flows at UK ports and airports. The proposed measures follow a spate of high-profile prosecutions in which fake advisers submitted bogus visa applications, leaving employers and applicants exposed to civil penalties and removal.
For global mobility teams this represents a double benefit: genuine advisers should face less unfair competition, while sponsors gain greater reassurance that regulated representatives meet professional standards. However, employers are being urged to audit their current advisory relationships because the new powers will apply retrospectively once enacted.
A six-week consultation on the draft order opened on 22 October 2025. If approved by Parliament, the IAA expects to begin exercising confiscation powers from early 2026, with the first recovered funds earmarked for border-security technology upgrades.
