Immigration officer
Job description
Immigration officers deal with the control of people entering the UK via its borders. Working in passport control, they are responsible for checking the right of entry to the UK of all individuals arriving at seaports, airports and via the Channel Tunnel. As well as examining documentation, they may gather intelligence, do case work, and where necessary, use legal powers to detain or remove illegal entrants to the UK.
Immigration officers work for the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
, a department of the Home Office
, which aims to provide high-quality and non-discriminatory entry controls to the UK in accordance with:
- immigration law;
- service standards;
- the UK's international obligations and the changing needs of the economy.
Typical work activities
The work of an immigration officer can be varied and the specific duties of each day will depend on the particular passengers travelling through the ports of entry. Generally duties will include:
- examining passports and recognising forged documentation - this requires excellent observational skills and an understanding of forgery techniques;
- conducting personal interviews with travellers - working through interpreters where necessary, and objectively evaluating the information presented;
- keeping up to date with changes in legislation and current affairs;
- applying immigration legislation, rules and policy;
- communicating with various agencies, including intelligence units, the police, benefits agencies, etc. helping to organise surveillance;
- carrying out intelligence-based activities and using knowledge of national and international intelligence;
- undertaking, with police assistance, immigration visits to identify people with no authority to remain in the UK;
- deciding on the entry rights of individuals and, where applicable, refusing entry;
- deciding on whether individuals who have been refused entry may be placed in temporary accommodation in the UK, and making appropriate arrangements, including liaising with and working alongside housing authorities;
- making arrangements for the removal of those who have entered or attempted to enter the UK in breach of immigration law;
- writing and presenting case study reports and statistics.
Salary and conditions
- Range of typical starting salaries: Assistant Immigration Officers start around £15,000-£16,500 and Immigration Officers £21,000 - £22,000, plus London weighting where appropriate, (salary data collected June 2010).
- Senior Immigration Officers can earn up to approximately £31,000 (salary data collected June 2010).
- Additional payments are made for weekends and bank holidays.
- Pensionable language allowances may be payable to those who have been successful in departmental language examinations. These allowances vary, depending on the language spoken.
- A minimum of 36 hours a week is the usual number of working hours.
- Immigration officers’ work shifts include nights, weekends and public holidays, to provide 24-hour coverage at most ports.
- Job-sharing, part-time opportunities and career breaks are available, subject to staffing requirements and the agreement of line managers.
- Immigration officers are based at over 50 airports and seaports around the UK and at the Channel Tunnel.
- The majority of jobs are in London and the South East, but new staff must be prepared to work at any location and are allocated to ports according to need. You may apply for a transfer after approximately two years' service (three years if posted to Heathrow), but frequent moves are unusual and unlikely.
- Staffing levels vary greatly, from major ports with a large workforce to comparatively remote locations with just one or two officers.
- Civil Service regulations apply to ensure that officers do not engage in activities that might conflict with their professional duties.
- A total of 44% of immigration officers (55% of all staff) in the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
are women.
- Uniforms are required to be worn whilst carrying out official front line operational duties.
- Many ports are extremely busy, which can make for a stressful working environment.
- Shift work can have lifestyle implications, but family-friendly policies apply where possible.
- Officers based at Dover must also be prepared to work in France and Belgium.
- On the whole, travel during the working day is rare, except for those involved in enforcement duties with people who have entered the UK illegally.
- Temporary overseas postings are also available to UK embassies and high commissions.
Entry requirements
No formal academic qualifications are required for immigration officer posts.
The UK Border Agency (UKBA)
has no graduate scheme of its own, but welcomes applications from graduates. Fluency in modern languages can be an advantage.
It is sometimes possible for graduates to enter through the Civil Service Fast Stream
route, which involves placements in several departments. However, an immigration posting cannot always be guaranteed. See the Fast Stream website for details of the scheme's entry criteria.
Applicants must be UK nationals with no restrictions on their stay in the UK. They should normally have lived in the UK continuously for five years prior to application, although graduates who have taken a gap year or course-related overseas placement may be eligible for consideration.
The sensitive nature of work carried out by the UK Border Agency means that security clearance is required for all posts. If selected for interview, candidates will be asked to complete a security questionnaire, which will explain the government's vetting policy.
For all permanent appointments, candidates must be able to give regular and effective service, and therefore will be asked to complete a health declaration and, if necessary, attend a medical examination.
Candidates will need to show evidence of the following:
- strong oral and written communication skills;
- excellent interpersonal skills - firmness allied with courtesy and tact;
- common sense;
- patience;
- the ability to listen attentively;
- excellent organisational skills;
- the ability to analyse and interpret information quickly and accurately to reach sound decisions;
- attention to detail;
- calmness under pressure and the ability to meet tight deadlines;
- reliability;
- a confident and responsible approach to work;
- the ability to work independently and as part of a team;
- a good understanding of current affairs.
The recruitment process usually includes the initial application, which is assessed against set competency standards, some checks on nationality, health and other matters, to make sure you meet the eligibility criteria and attendance at an assessment centre where you will most likely undertake a written exercise, role play and an interview.
The UK Border Agency encourages a diverse workforce and uses a variety of measures to promote equal opportunities. A guaranteed interview scheme operates for people with disabilities who meet the residency and nationality requirements and who obtain the pre-determined pass mark on their application form.
For more information, see work experience and internships and search courses and research.
Training
All new recruits to the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
undergo an initial period of specialist training lasting nine weeks in total. The initial classroom-based training programme takes nearly five weeks, and is followed by an operational coaching period of four weeks. Candidates will need to be available for the duration of this training period. Training courses are held at Status Park (Heathrow), Gatwick, Stansted, and in the Dover area and Manchester. Training includes classroom and practical work and site visits.
The training period supports the development of a wide range of skills and knowledge, including:
- immigration legislation;
- customer care;
- professional practice;
- interviewing;
- report writing.
New immigration officers are also provided with support through mentoring offered by more senior staff.
At the end of the initial training period, new entrants begin their first posting with intensive support from colleagues. The major ports and centres of employment have a team dedicated to continuous training. Practice varies in smaller teams.
The Agency also offers assistance for further job-related training specific to your role or specialist area. This may include the development of language skills.
Career development
As with most civil service positions, there is a clear promotion route with the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
. Formal promotion is through the grades of chief immigration officer and inspector of immigration to assistant director.
A variety of other options for promotion and specialisation exist, including the following:
- Joining a specialist team, such as those for forgery, airfield duties or intelligence gathering. The service is increasingly intelligence-based and all ports have forgery experts. Overall, about 10% of officers undertake specialist duties.
- Developing other skills in areas such as accommodation planning, training, IT, statistics and the improvement of business processes.
- Moving into an enforcement role. Enforcement involves investigation and taking action against those who have entered the UK in breach of immigration law. Some officers work in arrest teams and are qualified to work without police assistance.
- Transferring to an executive officer role, dealing with asylum and other claims to remain in the UK, or staffing the public enquiry service.
- Working in a British embassy or a high commission overseas as an entry clearance officer. Officers might typically achieve one or two postings in their career.
- Other overseas opportunities, such as intelligence and training or work as an airline intelligence officer to discourage the transport of passengers who are not eligible to enter the UK.
- Moving into policy work.
Employers and vacancy sources
Immigration officers work for the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
, a shadow agency of the Home Office
. The Agency was formed in April 2008 to improve the United Kingdom's security through stronger border protection whilst welcoming legitimate travellers and trade. The Agency brings together the work previously carried out by the Border and Immigration Agency, customs detection work at the border by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
and UK Border Agency Visa Services
provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
.
The UK Border Agency is a global organisation with 25,000 staff, including more than 9,000 warranted officers, operating in local communities, at UK borders and across 135 countries worldwide.
Other UK Border Agency departments include:
- the managed migration directorate, which considers applications from people who have already entered the UK;
- the nationality directorate, which deals with nationality applications.
The UK Border Agency also includes a policy directorate, a human resources directorate and a financial services directorate, responsible for budgets, premises and procurement of services.
Sources of vacancies
Search graduate jobs on this site.
All vacancies for the UK Border Agency (UKBA)
are advertised in the national and local press appropriate to the areas where recruits are needed. The Agency website also gives information about recruitment campaigns.
The following are also sources of vacancy information:
Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.
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