It is an essential responsibility of any Government to enforce and promote compliance with immigration laws, ensuring the swift return of those not entitled to be in the UK. Under section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007, the Home Secretary is under a duty to make a deportation order against a foreign national if they have been sentenced to at least 12 months for an offence in the UK, unless an exception applies. We do not propose to change these provisions. In 2019, enforced returns from the UK fell to 7,192 - 22% lower than the previous year, and continuing a downward trend since 2013.[footnote 28] FNO returns have also fallen in recent years, from 6,437 in 2016 to 5,118 in 2019.[footnote 29] There are now over 10,000 Foreign National Offenders, many of whom have committed serious offences, at liberty in the UK.[footnote 30] There are also 42,000 failed asylum seekers who have not left the UK.[footnote 31] Whilst there are various contributing factors to these trends, the increased pattern of repeated and often last-minute claims is challenging our ability to lawfully remove individuals. We need to legislate further to ensure that people who have no right to be in the UK, especially those who are a danger to our citizens are swiftly removed from the UK. To achieve this, we will:
Consult with Local Authority partners and stakeholders on implementing the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 to remove support from failed asylum-seekers who have no right to remain in the UK;
Consider whether to more carefully control visa availability where a country does not co-operate with receiving their own nationals who have no right to be in the UK;
Increase the early removal provision for Foreign National Offenders who leave the UK from 9 months to 12 months to encourage departure and also add a new ‘stop the clock’ provision so that they must complete their sentence if they return. This would be in addition to any sentence for returning in breach of a deportation order;
Amend the list of factors for consideration of granting bail and the conditions of bail;
Place in statute a single, standardised minimum notice period for migrants to access justice prior to removal and confirm in statute that notice need not be re-issued following a previous failed removal, for example where the person has physically disrupted their removal.
Removal of Failed Asylum Seekers It is not in the national interest that individuals who have been found to have no basis to stay in the UK, are able to continue to stay in the UK, accessing support from the state while not co-operating with immigration directions. Working with local authorities and partners we will seek to enforce returns – including removing asylum support for individuals who fail to comply with our attempts to return them. Primary legislation is already in place to achieve this. We will now move forward and use these powers to deliver a new fair but firm system. We also expect our international partners to work with us on facilitating the return of their own nationals back to their country where those nationals have no lawful right to remain in the UK. We will seek to use the range of levers we have to improve returns co-operation, including considering whether to more carefully control visa availability where a country does not co-operate with receiving their own nationals who have no right to be in the UK. Immigration Bail We will add to the list of considerations for granting bail, set out in Schedule 10 to the 2016 Immigration Act, that non-compliance with proper immigration processes (without good reason) can be considered in deciding not to grant bail. Early Removal Scheme To remove Foreign National Offenders serving prison sentences in the UK, where deportation is being pursued, offenders will be subject to the provisions of the Early Removal Scheme (ERS). This Scheme allows for offenders who are subject to a fixed-length sentence to be removed during their sentence for the purpose of immediate deportation. The ERS provides a window at the end of the sentence, during which the prisoner can be deported. This window will be increased from 9 months to 12 months, subject to serving at least 25% of the full sentence in prison. We will introduce a ‘stop the clock’ provision so that an FNO’s sentence is paused following removal and will be reactivated in the event the FNO returns to the UK. This would be in addition to any sentence for returning in breach of a deportation order, which will be increased from 6 months to a maximum of 5 years in prison. Removal of Foreign National Offenders: In Practice A Foreign National Offender was convicted of serious offences in the UK, leading to a prison sentence of over four years. Following the dismissal of their appeal against removal, they were deported. After their deportation, on more than one occasion, they were refused entry to the UK as an individual who was subject to a Deportation Order (DO). However, they subsequently managed to return to the UK in breach of their DO and received a short sentence of less than 6 months for this offence. Whilst in the UK, having entered in breach of their DO, the individual made a number of applications, including asylum claims and a judicial review, all of which were dismissed or refused. This individual was deported from the UK for a second time more than 5 years after their original appeal against deportation was dismissed by the courts. Under the proposed reforms, the maximum sentence for a foreign national offender returning in breach of a deportation order will increase from 6 months to 5 years to deter people from entering the UK illegally.