assistant immigration officer

The work

Assistant immigration officers help to maintain effective immigration control. They check that passengers are legally allowed to enter and stay in the UK.

Their duties include:

• checking passports and work permits
• conducting personal interviews
• taking fingerprints
• surveillance work
• arranging to remove people who are not allowed to stay in the UK
• record-keeping and clerical work
• taking part in immigration visits with the police.

They are based at airports and seaports around the UK, and also at the Channel Tunnel.

Hours and Environment

Most assistant immigration officers work 36 hours a week. They usually work shifts that include nights, weekends and public holidays.

Most of the work is office-based. They may sometimes travel around the country when taking part in surveillance work.

Skills and Interests

To be an assistant immigration officer you should:

• be confident
• be well-organised and reliable
• be able to work under pressure
• have good judgement
• have excellent written and spoken communications skills
• be able to work well with people
• have good report-writing skills.

Entry

You will normally need at least five GCSEs (A-C) including English language, or equivalent qualifications.

For some jobs, the Home Office may not ask for academic qualifications. Instead, you would fill in a competency-based application form, and then later be invited to take a written selection test and interview. 

You must be aged 18 to 64. You must be a British citizen with no restrictions on your stay in the UK, and should normally have lived in the UK for the last five years.

You may find it useful to speak other languages, but this is not essential. You will also find it useful to have experience of working with the public.

The sensitive nature of the work means that you must get security clearance for all jobs.

For more details about this career, see the Border & Immigration Agency and the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway websites in Further Information.

Training

You will have an initial training period at either Heathrow or Gatwick Airport, or the port of Dover. Your training will be a mixture of classroom-based and practical work.

Ongoing in-house training is available throughout your career. The department may also pay for you to take other part-time courses related to your work, for example computer skills or language courses.

Opportunities

There has been a large expansion programme within the immigration service. Assistant immigration officers are based at over 50 airports and seaports around the UK, and at the Channel Tunnel.

As with most civil service jobs, there is a clear promotion route. Assistant immigration officers can be promoted to immigration officers - in-house training is usually provided to help promotion prospects (see the Immigration Officer profile).

Most officers stay in one post for several years, but all must be prepared to serve anywhere in the UK.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Assistant immigration officers start on £13,556 a year.
Experienced assistant immigration officers can progress to around £16,500 a year.
Immigration officer starting salaries are around £18,000 a year.

Assistant immigration officers may receive an additional cost of living allowance for working in and around London.

There may be extra payments for shift work and working unsociable hours.

Further information

No central telephone number for information, please see website for contacts for individual departments

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