Office Of The Immigration Services Commissioner
1. Applications
If you want to submit an application to the OISC, you will need to do this online using the OISCs Webforms.
In order access these forms, you will first need to create a Government One Log-In Account. This is a system that is administered by the Cabinet Office and acts as a gateway to the OISC Webforms.
Creating a Government One Log-In Account is a separate process. Details of how this process works and how your data is used is in the Cabinet Offices privacy notice which can be found at Privacy notice - GOV.UK One Login (account.gov.uk).
When logging in to access the OISC Webforms, we will verify your identity using your name. If you are not able to log in after that then we will ask for your date of birth. If this also fails, we will ask you for your National Insurance Number.
All of this information would have already been provided when you initially signed up for a Government One Log-In Account.
Once you have logged in and selected the correct OISC Webform for your purposes, please complete the form.
You will need to make an online payment of the OISC application fee(s) as part of completing your OISC Webform. This will be done using a service known as GOV.UK Pay. This is a separate process from the OISC Webforms. For further detail as how this works, please click here.
For further information on how GOV.UK Pay use your data, please go to Privacy notice GOV.UK Pay (payments.service.gov.uk).
What personal data do we process?
When applying for registration you must provide us with:
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data relating to the organisation
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data relating to the individual advisers
To find out more about what data we process about organisations please click here.
To find out more about what data we process about advisers please click here.
To find out more about what data we process about owners and trustees please click here.
Why do we process your personal data?
Under section 83(5)(a) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended), we have a statutory duty to ensure that those who provide immigration advice and/or services are fit and competent to do so.
Therefore, if you are applying for initial registration, adding a new adviser, applying to change your level of registration, we must assess your fitness and competence at the level you have applied for.
Under Schedule 6, paragraph 2 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended), you must be registered if we consider you are fit and competent to provide immigration advice and/or services.
Also, under Schedule 6, paragraph 3 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended), we determine intervals where a person must submit an application for their registration to be continued. You must apply every year for us to continue your registration. You will be reminded at the time as to when you must submit a continuing registration application.
We will continue your registration only if you are fit and competent to provide immigration advice and/or services.
We must therefore process your data in the following ways to determine and ensure that you are fit and competent to provide immigration advice and/or services.
Therefore, as a public body, it is necessary for us to process your data in the following ways for the exercise of official authority vested in us (Article 6 GDPR).
As part of your application, we will process special category data (Article 9 GDPR). The processing of this data is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, as the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended) imposes a statutory duty on us to ensure that those who provide immigration advice and/or services are fit and competent to do so.
Processing this data forms part of our assessment as to whether you are fit and competent to provide immigration advice and/or services.
Some declarations in the application form relate to criminal convictions. As such, we are effectively processing personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences (Article 10 GDPR).
Some applications also require a DBS check for every applicant as part of the application process. As such, this is also considered processing personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences (Article 10 GDPR).
The processing of this data is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, as the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended) imposes a statutory duty on us to ensure that those who provide immigration advice and/or services are fit and competent to do so.
Processing this data forms part of our assessment as to whether you are fit to provide immigration advice and/or services.
How do we process your personal data?
Your data is provided to us when you submit your completed application form. Once you submit the completed form to us, our case management system is updated accordingly.
To find out more about how we retain data please click here.
Sharing your data outside the OISC:
HJT Training Limited
If you are applying for initial registration, applicant names, dates of birth and email addresses are shared with HJT Training Limited who facilitate the OISC competence assessments.
Your data will be shared with them so that they can enter you into the relevant OISC competence assessment, issue you with your candidate number and issue you with your assessment results.
The purpose for sharing this data is to enter you into our competence assessments process. Sitting the competence assessments are a way in which we assess your competence to provide immigration advice and/or services at the level you have applied for.
Disclosure and Barring Service
Your personal data will be shared with DBS so that they can do the necessary checks on you to verify whether you have any unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, warnings, etc.
The purpose of this is to verify that what you have declared in your application form is true and to ensure that you are fit to provide immigration advice and/or services.
Home Office
The OISC will conduct vetting checks on you and your organisation to ensure you are fit and competent to provide immigration advice and/or services.
As part of this your name, organisations name and address, advisers name, date of birth, Home Office reference number(s) and the information from the declarations in the application form will be shared with the Home Office.
This will also include the Home Office checking whether you are permitted to stay and work in the UK.
To find out more about how we handle data within the OISC please click here.
Other organisations
If you are declaring to be a solicitor, barrister and/or member of CILEx, your personal data will be shared with the SRA, BSB and CILEx to verify this.
Declarations
If you have answered Yes to any of the declarations, your data will be shared with external organisations to verify your answer.
An example of this is if you declare you have been involved in the running of any other business or are employed at another organisation, we will contact this organisation to verify your answer.
Section 93 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended)
There is nothing preventing a person from giving us information that is necessary for the discharge of our functions (i.e. to determine whether you are fit and competent).
Therefore, when we request information from other organisations to determine whether you are fit and competent, they can give us any information that is necessary for us to do so.
2. Complaints
When you send us a compliant about an adviser and/or organisation you should use our complaints form.
What personal data do we process?
To find out more about what data we process about complaints please click here.
Why do we process your personal data?
Under Schedule 5, paragraph 5(1) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (as amended), we must have a complaints scheme to investigate complaints. We must investigate complaints regarding:
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an advisers/organisations fitness or competence
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an alleged breach of the Code of Standards
Members of the public can also make a complaint about unregistered people/organisations providing or advertising the provision of immigration advice and/or services unlawfully. These complaints will be passed on to the relevant OISC team who will process the data for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences