About VisaGuard

VisaGuard specialises in helping sponsors meet their responsibilities for assessing student intent by conducting Skype and face to face interviews of students applying to come to the UK.  VisaGuard does not provide immigration advice but is a sister company to Veristat which provides a wide range of advice and support to companies and education providers on managing and meeting their responsibilities under the Immigration Rules.  

Don Ingham

VisaGuard and Veristat were founded by Don Ingham, a former Director in the Home Office. Don has over 30 years’ experience of immigration control at operational, policy and strategic levels, both in the UK and abroad.

Prior to founding VisaGuard and Veristat, Don held a number of board-level positions in the Home Office and other government departments. Roles included Director of Enforcement and Director of Managed Migration, during which time he was involved in developing the Points Based System.

Don has worked with a number of multi-nationals advising on border management issues and is also a Director of Eurasylum, through which he provides research, evaluation and consultancy services on migration for government agencies, the European Commission and NGOs including the International Organization for Migration.

Don is registered as an advisor with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) to give appropriate advice on UK immigration matters. He is also accredited by the Office of Government Commerce to undertake reviews of high risk government projects and has recently been appointed advisor to a new national association of international colleges. 

Mike Stanley (Associate)

Mike is a former senior official with the UK Border Agency. He spent over 37 years in government service, working up to the position of Director of Border Control Regions.

Mike has extensive experience in the field of operational immigration enforcement, including the management of enforcement for London. He has worked in Qatar and Turkey, managing visa policy and practice, and has in-depth knowledge of immigration policy and implementation.