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Provisional licence and supervision policy

1 November 2009

Part A: Introduction and purpose

Introduction

1. The pathway for individuals who have no prior immigration adviser experience and who wish to enter the immigration advice profession for the first time is to become a provisional licence holder. The Registrar of Immigration Advisers (the Registrar) may grant a provisional licence if satisfied that a licence applicant is a new entrant to the industry or that for any other reason supervision is required or appropriate.
2. The supervision of provisional licence holders is an important role that all full licence holders should consider undertaking, both to grow their own business and to ensure that the immigration adviser industry grows into a respected profession.

Purpose

3. This policy sets out the requirements for provisional licence applicants and provisional licence supervisors. Both prospective provisional licence applicants and supervisors should read this policy.

Part B: Provisional licences

What is a provisional licence?

4. A provisional licence is an immigration adviser licence that allows a person to provide immigration advice in relation to all immigration matters while working under the direct supervision of a fully licensed immigration adviser.

What is the purpose of a provisional licence?

5. The purpose of a provisional licence is to establish a robust supervision arrangement that:
   1. gives a provisional licence holder’s clients access to the same standard of full, accurate, competent and ethical advice that would be received by a full licence holder’s clients;
   2. facilitates the education and professional development of provisional licence holders so that they may develop the skills and competencies required for a full licence; and
   3. facilitates the education and professional development of supervisors by providing them with the opportunity to develop leadership and training skills in their areas of expertise.

 Who is eligible to apply for a provisional licence?

6. Any person who wishes to become an immigration adviser and has insufficient prior experience to apply for a full or limited immigration adviser licence should apply for a provisional licence.
7. A provisional licence holder may be an employee of a licensed immigration adviser or another company or organisation, or may run their own business.

How long is a provisional licence granted for?

8. A provisional licence is granted for 12 months and may be renewed or upgraded to a full or limited licence.

How do I apply for a provisional licence?

9. A provisional licence applicant must complete the Application Booklet. They must complete three cases studies demonstrating their understanding of immigration law and policy and they must complete Part C of the Application Booklet relating to the supervision arrangement.
10. The supervisor must also complete Part C of the Application Booklet.
11. Both the provisional licence applicant and the supervisor must complete and submit a draft supervision agreement for approval along with the Application Booklet.
12. Once the provisional licence application has been approved, the applicant and the supervisor must sign and date the supervision agreement and submit a copy to the Immigration Advisers Authority (the Authority) at the time the levy is paid.

Part C Supervision

What is direct supervision?

13. Section 19(5) of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 (the Act) requires that a person who holds a provisional licence must work under the direct supervision of a fully licensed immigration adviser.
14. In the Registrar’s view, direct supervision includes the following components.
    1. The supervisor must monitor all formal documentation and correspondence from the provisional licence holder to clients, Immigration New Zealand and tribunals. This monitoring may take the form of checking the correspondence before or after it is sent. Both parties need to agree on when the monitoring will take place.  For example, initially the supervisor may check all documentation before it is sent. Once the supervisor has confidence in the provisional licence holder’s competence in a particular area (e.g. temporary visas) the supervisor may move to checking that particular formal documentation and correspondence after it has been sent. This would see the provisional licence holder gradually taking more responsibility as their competence grows, but with audit and review still occurring.
    2. The supervisor and the provisional licence holder must meet regularly. Daily, weekly or fortnightly meetings are likely to be considered acceptable. Either party must give as much notice of cancellation as possible, and must arrange an alternative date.
    3. The regular meetings should be used to discuss current client cases and immigration law and policy, ensure the provisional licence holder is working within the scope of his or her individual knowledge and skills, ensure that documentation is being monitored by the supervisor, identify the provisional licence holder’s learning needs, and develop and monitor the provisional licence holder’s professional development plan.

Can a provisional licence holder be supervised by a full licence holder who works for another company?

15. Yes. A provisional licence holder may be supervised by their employer or another employee in the company (who is a full licence holder). Alternatively both the provisional licence holder and the supervisor may work for different companies.

Can a provisional licence holder be supervised by a full licence holder in a different country?

16. Yes. A provisional licence holder and a supervisor can be in different countries provided they both continue to abide by the Provisional Licence and Supervision Policy. They must continue to have regular meetings which may be by telephone or video conferencing.

Can a supervisor charge for their services?

17. Yes. Supervisors may charge for their services if they wish. All agreements relating to costs must be set out in the supervision agreement.

How many provisional licence holders may one full licence holder supervise?

18. The Registrar must be satisfied that the supervisor can realistically meet their roles and responsibilities as a supervisor in relation to all supervision agreements they have as well as their other work commitments.

What happens when the supervisor is away or unavailable?

19. Direct supervision must continue when the supervisor is away or unavailable. The supervision agreement may include a provision for an alternative full licence holder to act in the supervision role in the absence of the supervisor.

What must be included in a supervision agreement?

20. The Registrar has developed a model supervision agreement.  It demonstrates the basic elements the Registrar expects in a supervision agreement. You may modify this agreement to reflect your particular circumstances. You are not required to use the model agreement.
21. In summary, all supervision agreements must contain the following elements:
1. the names and details of each party to the agreement;
2. the purpose of the agreement (see Part B above);
3. details of the supervision arrangement, including details of how direct supervision will take place (see Part C above);
4. the agreement of the employer of the provisional licence holder and/or the supervisor, where either of the parties are not the employer (see Part C above);
5. who will bear the costs of the supervision arrangement (see Part C above);
6. a professional development plan for the provisional licence holder;
7. the roles and responsibilities of the provisional licence holder (see Part D below);
8. the roles and responsibilities of the supervisor (see Part D below);
9. agreement that both parties abide by the Provisional Licence and Supervision Policy (see Part D below);
10. agreement that both parties abide by the code of conduct (see Part D below);
11. any conflicts of interest either party may have and how they will address these (see Part D below);
12. agreement on how disputes will be resolved;
13. agreement to keep records relating to the supervision arrangement for inspection by the Immigration Advisers Authority (see Part D below); and
14. the date and signatures of both parties and the provisional licence holder’s employer (if this is not the supervisor) and the supervisor’s employer (if applicable).

Part D Roles and responsibilities

What are the roles and responsibilities of the provisional licence holder?

22. The provisional licence holder must: 
1. hold a provisional immigration advisers licence in accordance with the Act;
2. provide to the Registrar a copy of his or her signed and dated supervision agreement;
3. advise all his or her clients that he or she holds a provisional licence and is being formally supervised;
4. obtain the client’s consent to disclose the client’s personal information to the supervisor, unless this consent has been previously been obtained due to the supervisor and the provisional licence holder’s employment relationship;
5. retain responsibility for his or her own professional practice;
6. safeguard the commercial and professional interests of his or her organisation;
7. work within the limits of his or her competence;
8. provide to his or her supervisor for monitoring all formal documentation and correspondence from the provisional licence holder to clients, Immigration New Zealand and tribunals;
9. implement actions and strategies agreed with their supervisor aimed at enhancing their immigration advice services; and
10. inform the Registrar if there is a change in supervisor and seek approval for a new supervision agreement.

What are the roles and responsibilities of the supervisor?

23. The supervisor must:
1. hold a full immigration advisers licence in accordance with the Act;
2. have the ability to provide direct supervision on the basis that he or she has supervision, leadership or management experience, and/or has completed a relevant training course;
3. provide direct supervision for the provisional licence holder;
4. provide direct supervision only within the scope of his or her individual skills and knowledge as set out in the competency standards;
5. support the provisional licence holder to develop the skills and competencies required for a full licence by providing:
1. critical feedback;
2. support and guidance for work practice;
3. structured learning; and
4. opportunities for on-the-job learning and development.
6. accept responsibility for the quality of the provisional licence holder’s work by:
1. ensuring the provisional licence holder is operating within the scope of his or her individual knowledge and skills;
2. monitoring all documentation and correspondence to Immigration New Zealand, clients or tribunals; and
3. maintaining oversight of the provisional licence holder’s handling of immigration matters.

Supervision policy

24. Both parties must agree to abide by the Provisional Licence and Supervision Policy.
25. Both parties must be prepared for all supervision sessions, with appropriate paperwork, and follow–up from previous sessions attended to.
26. Both parties must agree to work together to progress the provisional licence holder’s professional development plan.

Code of conduct

27. Both parties must agree to fully comply with the code of conduct.
28. Any breach of the code of conduct, by either the supervisor or the provisional licence holder, which cannot be resolved, should be reported to the Authority as a complaint under section 44.
29. Either party must refer matters not covered by the code of conduct or the Act to the appropriate authorities.

Conflicts of interest

30. Both parties must identify any conflicts of interest, including the commercial and professional interests of both parties, and must agree on how these will be addressed.

Keeping records

31. Both parties must keep records relating to the supervision arrangement. The provisional licence holders and their supervisors are encouraged to develop template documents to record the supervision.
32. Records should include the supervision agreement, minutes of supervision meetings, a list of client files in which the supervisor is providing direct supervision, details of the provisional licence holder’s professional development goals, action plan and results, and details of any training attended by the provisional licence holder.
33. In accordance with section 57 of the Act, the Registrar may inspect these records.

The role of the Registrar of Immigration Advisers

34. The Registrar will approve each supervision arrangement as part of the application for a provisional licence.
35. The Registrar may, under section 57 of the Act, inspect supervision records to verify whether a provisional licence holder is receiving direct supervision and whether the supervisor and the provisional licence holder are acting in accordance with this policy.
36. The Registrar will not be involved in a dispute between a supervisor and provisional licence holder unless the Registrar has received a complaint under section 44 of the Act.
37. The Registrar recognises direct supervision by the supervisor as an activity for the purposes of continuing professional development.

Upgrading to a full licence

38. The provisional licence holder may apply for a limited licence or a full licence at any time, providing they meet the upgrade policy criteria.  The length of time a person needs to spend as a provisional licence holder before upgrading to a full licence will depend on their prior experience and the rate of their professional development.

This policy was updated in October 2009. If you wish to view the previous policy, please email the Authority at info@iaa.govt.nz.