Customs and excise officer to immigration officer
A customs and excise officer already meets 42% of what the immigration officer role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.2/ 100
1 How much of what an immigration officer is expected to do is already part of a customs and excise officer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the immigration officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An immigration officer role treats 4 of its required skills as things a customs and excise officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- check official documents
- conduct research interview
- handle surveillance equipment
- respond to enquiries
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An immigration officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a customs and excise officer background worth leading with.
- already held illegal substances services
- already held present evidence communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held check official documents assisting and caring
- already held conduct research interview communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held handle surveillance equipment assisting and caring
- already held maintain operational communications communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 4 the immigration officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply immigration law required
- still to learn check travel documentation required
- still to learn ensure law application required
- still to learn identify security threats required
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held conduct frisk optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held guide people to holding areas optional
- still to learn provide immigration advice required
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held instruct public optional
- still to learn immigration law required
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an immigration officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply immigration law practise this
- 02 check travel documentation practise this
- 03 ensure law application practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held check official documents skill
- already held conduct research interview skill
- already held handle surveillance equipment skill
- already held respond to enquiries skill
- already held illegal substances knowledge
- already held maintain operational communications skill
- already held present evidence skill
- already held undertake inspections skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply information security policies optional
- optional, not held apply knowledge of human behaviour optional
- optional, not held conduct frisk optional
- optional, not held detain offenders optional
- optional, not held guide people to holding areas optional
- optional, not held instruct public optional
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
20 held skills the immigration officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role calculate tax skill
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role control trade commercial documentation skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate import transportation activities skill
- not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role import export regulations of dangerous chemicals knowledge
- not needed by the target role international business knowledge
- not needed by the target role international import export regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role international taxation of transfer prices knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage import export licenses skill
- not needed by the target role patrol areas skill
- not needed by the target role prepare documentation for international shipping skill
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice to clients in terms of export restrictions skill
- not needed by the target role provide advice to clients in terms of import restrictions skill
- not needed by the target role regulations for international transportation knowledge
- not needed by the target role select items for auction skill
- not needed by the target role tax legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role train animals for professional purposes skill
- not needed by the target role transport dangerous goods skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn immigration law required
- optional, not held investigation research methods optional
Other moves recorded from customs and excise officer
Common questions about this move
Can a customs and excise officer become an immigration officer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A customs and excise officer already covers 42% of what an immigration officer is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 4 of which the immigration officer role treats as required.
What skills does a customs and excise officer need to become an immigration officer?
6 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply immigration law.
How hard is the move from customs and excise officer to immigration officer?
Its learning distance is 51.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.