The United Kingdom

Supporting professional standards and transparency in agent engagement

The United Kingdom operates a sector-led approach to education agent quality and professionalism. Rather than direct statutory regulation of agents, this approach is shaped by shared frameworks, guidance, and good practice developed collaboratively by institutions, sector bodies, and public organisations.

Institutions recruiting international students remain responsible for how they appoint, manage, and oversee their education agent relationships. Sector expectations emphasise ethical practice, transparency, informed student choice, and clear institutional accountability.

ICEF supports institutions and agents working in the UK by providing structured reference points, professional training, and reviewable evidence that align with these sector-led expectations.

The UK context

Agent engagement in the UK is shaped in particular by the Agent Quality Framework (AQF), developed through collaboration between sector bodies including the British Council, Universities UK International, UKCISA, and BUILA.

The AQF focuses on:

  • ethical conduct and professionalism,
  • agent knowledge and competence,
  • transparency in recruitment practices,
  • and informed student decision-making.

Alongside this, UK institutions holding student sponsor licences remain accountable under UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) rules for the conduct of their recruitment partners.

ICEF’s activities operate within this environment by providing structure, documentation, and visibility that institutions may use as part of their own agent engagement and governance approaches.

How ICEF supports institutions and agents in the UK

ICEF’s Quality & Standards activities are used by UK institutions and their partners as part of agent engagement, oversight, and documentation processes.

This support includes:

  • structured verification of education agency identity and institutional references through ICEF Agency Status (IAS), as part of ICEF’s accreditation and review processes,
  • access to reference frameworks that support partner review through the IAS programme,
  • professional training for education counsellors through ICEF’s recognised UK-focused training programmes, including the UK Agent and Counsellor Training Course,
  • tools that allow institutions to organise their own training delivery and retain time-stamped records of completion by counsellor, agency, and branch, such as Train Your Agents,
  • and structured consideration of publicly available information, including reputational and sanctions-related signals, that institutions may factor into their own review processes, supported by ICEF Due Diligent.

In the UK context, institutions commonly require agencies to confirm that counsellors involved in recruitment have completed recognised UK-specific training. ICEF supports clearer attribution and evidencing of such training participation where institutions choose to document this more explicitly across their agent networks.

All outputs are designed for institutional use and human review, supporting informed decision-making by institutions.

Supporting AQF alignment and sponsor expectations

By providing structured records, attribution, and reviewable evidence, ICEF’s tools support institutions in documenting and evidencing agent engagement practices that align with the principles of the Agent Quality Framework (AQF) and with expectations placed on licensed sponsors under UKVI rules.

ICEF does not make decisions about agent suitability or compliance. Responsibility for judgement, oversight, and regulatory engagement remains with institutions and relevant authorities.

Supporting best practice across diverse partnerships

UK institutions often work with agents operating across multiple countries, regulatory environments, and organisational structures.

ICEF’s global reach and structured approach help institutions maintain consistency in how agent relationships are documented, reviewed, and supported, while remaining aligned with UK sector frameworks and institutional judgement.

A supportive, non-regulatory role

ICEF supports professional standards and transparency in international student recruitment. It does not act as a regulator, enforcement body, or decision-maker.

Its role is to provide shared reference points, training, and structured information that institutions and agents may use to support responsible recruitment practices and positive student outcomes.

Explore ICEF Quality & Standards tools