Can I use a representative to apply for leave to remain under the sole representative of an overseas firm category?

This page explains whether you can use a representative, such as a solicitor or other agent, when applying for leave to remain as a sole representative of an overseas firm.

If you would like to use a representative when applying for leave to remain, you should make sure that they are registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or are exempt from the requirement to be registered (see below). Anyone who gives advice or acts on your behalf but is not registered could be committing a criminal offence.

You can get lists of registered and exempted immigration advisers from:

OISC
5th Floor
Counting House
53 Tooley Street
London
SE1 2QN

Phone: 0845 000 0046 (calls charged at local rate)
Fax: 020 7211 1553
Email: info@oisc.gov.uk
Website: www.oisc.gov.uk

The Law Society, which regulates solicitors in England and Wales, may also be able to help you find a solicitor. You can call the Law Society on 0870 606 6575.

Once we have made our decision on your application, we will send it to your representative, provided they are registered or permitted to give immigration advice.

If you and your representative are outside the United Kingdom, your representative does not need to register with the OISC. However, if you are in the United Kingdom but your representative is not, we will not be able to send your passport or other travel documents to your representative, and you will need to provide us with an address in the United Kingdom.

Exemptions from OISC registration

Some immigration advisers are exempt from OISC registration. To be exempt, an adviser must be a member of a designated professional body, work under the supervision of a designated professional body or be exempt by ministerial order.

Designated professional bodies

If an immigration adviser is a member of or works under the supervision of one of the professional bodies below, they are exempt from registration with the OISC:

• the Law Society;
• the Law Society in Scotland;
• the Law Society in Northern Ireland;
• the Institute of Legal Executives;
• the Faculty of Advocates;
• the General Council of the Bar; and
• the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland.

Organisations exempt by ministerial order

If an immigration adviser is a member of or works under the supervision of one of the organisations below, they are exempt from registration with the OISC by ministerial order:

• state education institutions and their student unions;
• health sector bodies; and
• employers giving immigration advice to their employees or prospective employees only.