Concerns have been raised in the House of Keys about the lack of regulation of immigration advisory services - with one MHK claiming ‘it’s a complete Wild West out there’.
The issue was highlighted by Douglas North MHK David Ashford who told Media Isle of Man that he had come across examples of individuals and companies on-island providing and offering advice when they aren't qualified to do so.
In one case, he said, an adviser had copied and pasted out of date guidance from a qualified company’s website and passed it off as their own. And he said due to people paying for and following incorrect advice their applications had been declined.
In the UK it is a criminal offence for anyone to provide immigration advice or services unless they are regulated although members of certain professional bodies may do so without being regulated.
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In the Keys, Mr Ashford asked Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson what plans there are to introduce regulation in the Isle of Man.
Dr Allinson replied that the Department for Enterprise is currently consulting on a review of the Employment Agencies Act 1975 which includes a proposal that this be widened to include the provision of immigration advice.
Mr Ashford suggested that this was something that needs to be looks at urgently.
He said: ‘It’s quite a serious gap. At the moment, it's complete Wild West out there. The UK takes it so seriously that it's actually a criminal offence, except in certain circumstances.’
Dr Allinson said: ‘I agree that this is something that needs to be looked at. We've seen some recent cases have highlighted this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.’
But he pointed out there were some ‘extremely useful’ professionals in this island who can provide very good immigration advice to people, either here or wanting to come here.
He noted that any regulation would only apply to businesses and individuals providing advice in the Isle of Man, and not to those operating from outside the island.
‘All members will be aware that there have been cases with online advice and online advertising for immigration services where either the UK regulations or in fact, any future Isle of Man regulations would struggle to deal with,’ he told MHKs.
‘That's why it's really important to have the right information out there to stop anyone either getting the wrong advice or even being exploited by people who intend to give the wrong advice for their own financial gain.’
The Treasury Minister said the DfE’s consultation closes on November 29 and he would then be working with Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston to analyse the results and look to see if the current legislation can be amended, how quickly that can be brought in.