Immigration Act update

The Immigration Bill which received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014 aims to make fundamental changes to how the immigration system functions.

The Immigration Act is aimed to significantly enhance the way Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and UK Visas & Immigration undertake their work to secure the border, enforce the immigration rules and continue to attract the brightest and the best.

Highlights of the Immigration Act

Cutting the number of immigration decisions that can be appealed from 17 to 4, while allowing the government to return certain harmful individuals before their appeals are heard if there is no risk of serious irreversible harm
Ensuring that the courts have regard to Parliament’s view of what the public interest requires when considering European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) Article 8 claims in immigration cases – making clear the right to a family life is not to be regarded as absolute and unqualified
Clamping down on people who try to gain an immigration advantage by entering into a sham marriage or civil partnership
Requiring private landlords to check the immigration status of tenants, preventing those with no right to live in the UK from accessing private rented housing
Introducing a new requirement from temporary migrants with time-limited immigration status by requiring them to make a financial contribution to the National Health Service

The Immigration Act 2014 will also include powers to prevent repeat bail applications when a removal is imminent, revoke driving licences held by immigration offenders and allow the Home Secretary to deprive a naturalised individual of their British citizenship if their actions have been seriously prejudicial to the interests of the United Kingdom and the Home Secretary has reasonable grounds for believing the person is able to become a national of another country.

The Government is continually seeking to introduce new legislation with regard to Immigration making it harder for migrants to enter and remain in the UK. It is therefore important to seek legal advice from advisors like ourselves to ensure that any application for leave to enter or remain is made in accordance with the Immigration rules to avoid unnecessary complexities arising from a negative decision.

If you would like further information on this topic please contact the Edwin Coe Employment Team.

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