Guidance

Immigration Act: overview

Updated 12 July 2016

1. Background

The Immigration Act 2016 received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016. It contains a number of policies in the Conservative party manifesto and further proposals from the Prime Minister’s immigration speech that took place immediately after the general election in 2015.

The UK is one of the most successful multiracial democracies in the world; because of that, more people want to come here than ever before. With increased demand comes a growing number of people willing to disobey our immigration controls and others who take advantage of vulnerable migrants by promising a better life but delivering the opposite.

A new director of labour market enforcement will bring better co-ordination to existing regulators and ensure that the enforcement effort is targeted to prevent exploitation. We are increasing the penalties for those who repeatedly employ illegal migrants as a source of cheap labour. And illegal workers themselves will be committing a new offence and their earnings will be seized.

To reduce demand for migrant labour further, the act will establish a new ‘immigration skills charge’ that certain employers will have to pay if they wish to bring certain workers into the country. The funds raised will be used to develop skills in the resident labour market. The Act will also ensure that all front-line, public-sector workers can speak fluent English.

This act will make it harder for people to settle in the UK when they have no right to do so, building on the Immigration Act 2014 to restrict access to services for illegal migrants. Landlords will be able to evict illegal migrants more quickly, and access to driving licences and bank accounts will be further protected as services for only the lawfully resident population.

The act supports the Home Office, following consultation with local authorities, to resettle unaccompanied refugee children from Europe, to the UK, in response to the ongoing crisis that has placed these children at risk. It will also relieve pressure on those local authorities receiving high numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, by creating a mechanism in England for transfer of responsibility, from one local authority to another.

The act will restrict the support we give to people whose claims for asylum have been unconfirmed, and their dependants, to those who are poor and face a genuine problem in leaving the UK. We are also simplifying the basis on which local authorities in England can support migrants without immigration status. We will continue to meet all of our obligations towards asylum seekers, refugees and children but equally we should be expecting illegal migrants to leave the UK rather than providing access to support.

The act will make it easier to remove people who shouldn’t be in the UK by introducing new powers to tag foreign national offenders released on bail, and extending ‘deport now, appeal later’ certification powers to more immigration cases. The act also commits the Government to place new limitations on the detention of pregnant women and introduces regular bail hearings to ensure those entering detention stay there for the shortest period possible.

We will be equipping immigration officers with additional search and seizure powers to better enforce our immigration laws. The Act contains maritime powers designed to combat the threat of illegal immigration to the UK from small boats crossing the Channel. Under the act, Border Force will have new powers to target vessels in UK territorial waters suspected of involvement in facilitating illegal entry into the UK.

1.1 Why we need to legislate again

The Immigration Act 2014 put in place many effective measures intended to reduce illegal immigration and making it more difficult for illegal migrants to live and work in the UK. This act builds on those measures. For example, the 2014 Act ‘right to rent’ scheme requires landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants.

This new act provides landlords with additional routes to evict illegal migrants as well as creating new offences for corrupt landlords who continuously rent to illegal migrants. This act also incorporates a number of new measures not covered under the 2014 act, for example, a raft of new measures to deny illegal migrants access to the labour market.

2. Measures

2.1 Controlling migration to the UK

Measures in the act make the UK a less attractive place for illegal migrants and those who seek to exploit them. But it’s just one part of our broader strategy for reducing net migration. As the Prime Minister has set out, we’ll improve our immigration and labour market rules, so we reduce the demand for skilled migrant labour and crack down on the exploitation of low-skilled workers.

2.2 Helping with the Syrian refugee crisis

The act creates new powers to combat the facilitation of vulnerable migrants and commits the government to resettle unaccompanied refugee children. But we should not look to primary legislation for solutions when our response can be quicker and simpler. The act complements the immediate action we are taking to resettle Syrian refugees and further secure border control in Calais.

2.3 Cost to general public

The costs of implementing measures in this act are compensated by the benefits. The act creates new powers and penalties that will allow immigration officers to work more efficiently in dealing with illegal migration and limit access to services for those with no right to be here.

3. What we’re going to do

• support working people, clamp down on illegal immigration and protect our public services
• focus on the exploitation of low-skilled workers and increase sanctions for those involved in such practices
• prosecute rogue landlords and agents who repeatedly fail to carry out right to rent checks or fail to take steps to remove illegal migrants from their property
• help stop illegal employment, including a new offence of illegal working
• give Immigration enforcement officers new powers to search individuals and properties and seize identity documents if they suspect someone to be here illegally
• ensure all public employees in customer-facing roles speak good English
• electronically tag foreign national offenders on immigration bail
• restrict the support we give to people whose claims for asylum have been rejected to those who are destitute and face a genuine obstacle to leaving the UK
• resettle unaccompanied children impacted by the ongoing migration crisis
• crack down on those who exploit illegal migrants by seeking to smuggle them into the UK
• enforce a new skills levy on businesses bringing migrant labour into the country so we can reduce our reliance on imported labour, and boost the skills of young people in the UK

4. How we’re going to do it

• introduce new sanctions on illegal workers and rogue employers
• better co-ordination of regulators that enforce workers’ rights
• prevent those unlawfully in the UK from accessing housing, driving licences and bank accounts
• introduce new measures to make it easier to enforce immigration laws and remove illegal migrants

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said:

The message is clear — if you are here illegally, you shouldn’t be entitled to receive the everyday benefits and services available to hard-working UK families and people who have come to this country legitimately to contribute.

Whether it is working, renting a flat, having a bank account or driving a car, the new immigration bill will help us to take tougher action than ever before on those who flout the law.

This bill will build on the Government’s work since 2010 to crack down on abuse and build an immigration system that truly benefits Britain – by deterring illegal migrants from coming and making it harder for those already here to live and work in the UK.