248.This section prohibits the provision of immigration advice or services by those who are not qualified to do so. Contravention of the prohibition is an offence. The section sets out who are to be qualified persons. These include those who are registered with the Commissioner, or who are members of a designated professional body or equivalent EEA professional body. It provides the Commissioner and the Secretary of State with the power to exempt a person or category of persons, respectively, from the scheme. The Commissioner is provided with the power to exempt a person in respect of the provision of certain types of immigration advice or services and not others: for example, the Commissioner may exempt a person from giving advice on immigration cases but not on asylum cases. It also sets out those who do not fall to be regulated, including those employed by a government department when acting in that capacity.
Schedule 4: Appeals Part V: Immigration advisers and immigration service providers Section 84: Provision of immigration services