Legal representatives' same-day service

This page explains the service available to legal representatives who wish to submit applications at public enquiry offices on behalf of clients.

The legal representatives' same-day service allows legal representatives to submit cases on behalf of their clients.

In Croydon, the same-day service allows representatives to submit on behalf of their clients a pre-arranged number of cases on an allocated day or days. The public enquiry offices in Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool and Sheffield operate an appointments-only system, and to make an appointment you should phone:

• Birmingham: 0121 704 5450
• Glasgow: 0141 555 1258
• Liverpool: 0151 237 0473
• Sheffield: 0870 606 7766

To join the service, you must be registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or be exempt. See the OISC website for more information.

The rules and standards for immigration advisers are on the OISC website. Staff in our public enquiry offices will enforce these rules and standards and representatives who do not comply will be advised in writing and may not be admitted.

To join the same-day service, you must be qualified under the terms of Part V of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and must provide evidence of that qualification. You are qualified to provide immigration advice or services if you are:

• a member of a designated professional body, such as the Law Society or an equivalent in the European Economic Area, or acting under the supervision of a member;
• registered or exempted by the OISC, or acting under the supervision of such a person; or
• exempted by ministerial order, such as an employer providing advice only to your own staff or prospective staff.

You must have have a letter signed by your client confirming that you are representing the applicant or applicants when you submit an application at a public enquiry office.

If you are a new user who wishes to present applications through a public enquiry office, you should submit a request in writing together with your full contact details, expected use of the service and your OISC number, if appropriate, to:

PEO reps same-day service
UK Border Agency
First floor
Lunar House
40 Wellesley Road
Croydon
CR9 2BY

We issue every representative with a yellow ticket that you should keep and show to reception on each visit. The ticket will state your company name, the maximum number of applications and the designated day or days when you may submit applications.

You may enter the public enquiry office through the route signposted for appointment bookings. You will be screened by security and reception and then proceed to make payment for the applications.

After making payment you will report to the desk for representatives and bulk users (representatives from embassies and large companies). At Croydon, representatives will be seen in the order of arrival. At other offices, you must have an appointment.

At Croydon, users of the service may currently attend on their pre-set day at a time convenient to themselves between 0800 and 1000. You must arrive before 1000 as it will help us process your cases more efficiently, particularly if you have brought a large number. If you arrive after 1000 you will not be allowed to proceed through reception. Please do not arrive before 0800.

Floor supervisors will monitor the number of applications presented and increase the number of counter officers available if necessary to ensure waiting times are kept to a minimum. We do not expect, based on current daily user numbers, that there will be any significant stacking or queuing of applications presented by users.

All cases must be collected on the same day. If you leave the building after submitting your applications, please ensure that you return before the closing time of the office as our doors are locked after this time. For information on opening hours, see the details for individual public enquiry offices.

We will communicate with you directly about any cases that we cannot complete on the same day. If you have used an agent or courier, we will contact you by phone.

We cannot consider a case over the phone because we cannot realistically discuss the merit of a case to any depth on the phone.

For general enquiries, you should phone the immigration enquiry bureau.

If you have any concerns or comments about the service, please write to us at the address given above for the PEO reps same-day service.