Immigration officer to immigration adviser
An immigration officer already meets 33% of what the immigration adviser role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.2/ 100
1 How much of what an immigration adviser is expected to do is already part of an immigration 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 adviser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An immigration adviser role treats 5 of its required skills as things an immigration officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply immigration law
- check official documents
- immigration law
- provide immigration advice
- 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An immigration adviser role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an immigration officer background worth leading with.
- already held apply immigration law assisting and caring
- already held check travel documentation assisting and caring
- already held provide immigration advice communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held immigration law business, administration and law
- already held check official documents assisting and caring
- already held respond to enquiries assisting and caring
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the immigration adviser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 5 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 advise on licencing procedures required
- still to learn apply technical communication skills required
- optional, not held assess informational needs optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with local representatives optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held protect client interests optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- still to learn assess licence applications required
- still to learn issue official documents required
- optional, not held issue licences optional
- optional, not held observe confidentiality optional
- optional, not held screen clients optional
- still to learn correspond with licence applicants required
- optional, not held ensure information transparency optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
- still to learn licences regulation required
- optional, not held foreign affairs optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an immigration adviser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assess licence applications practise this
- 02 correspond with licence applicants practise this
- 03 advise on licencing procedures 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held apply immigration law skill
- already held check official documents skill
- already held immigration law knowledge
- already held provide immigration advice skill
- already held respond to enquiries skill
- already held check travel documentation skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess informational needs optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with local representatives optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held ensure cross-department cooperation optional
- optional, not held ensure information transparency optional
- optional, not held foreign affairs optional
- optional, not held issue licences optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held maintain relationships with government agencies optional
- optional, not held observe confidentiality optional
- optional, not held observe new developments in foreign countries optional
- optional, not held protect client interests optional
- optional, not held screen clients optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
16 held skills the immigration adviser role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role conduct frisk skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
- not needed by the target role detain offenders skill
- not needed by the target role ensure law application skill
- not needed by the target role guide people to holding areas skill
- not needed by the target role handle surveillance equipment skill
- not needed by the target role identify security threats skill
- not needed by the target role illegal substances knowledge
- not needed by the target role instruct public skill
- not needed by the target role investigation research methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain operational communications skill
- not needed by the target role present evidence skill
- not needed by the target role undertake inspections skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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 licences regulation required
- optional, not held foreign affairs optional
Common questions about this move
Can an immigration officer become an immigration adviser?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An immigration officer already covers 33% of what an immigration adviser is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the immigration adviser role treats as required.
What skills does an immigration officer need to become an immigration adviser?
6 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is assess licence applications.
How hard is the move from immigration officer to immigration adviser?
Its learning distance is 61.2 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.