GLOSSARY

Immigration officers definition

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What does Immigration officers mean?

Officers appointed by the Secretary of State under the Immigration Act 1971, Sch 2, para 1 to assist in the administration of immigration control.

In the exercise of their functions under the Immigration Act 1971 immigration officers shall act in accordance with such instructions (not inconsistent with immigration rules) as may be given them by the Secretary of State. Immigration officers have prime responsibility for examining a person arriving in the United Kingdom in order to determine whether he is a British citizen, if not whether he requires leave to enter the United Kingdom and if so whether he has been given such leave which is still in force, he should be given leave and for what period or on what conditions (if any) or he should be refused leave. Immigration officers are also responsible for determining whether to cancel the leave of a person arriving in the United Kingdom with pre-existing leave and for giving directions for the removal of persons from the United Kingdom.

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Entry, search and seizure powers of immigration officers

completion-day'>IP COMPLETION DAY: The Brexit transition period ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020. At this time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), transitional arrangements ended and significant changes began to take effect across the UK’s legal regime. This document contains guidance on subjects impacted by these changes. Before continuing your research, see Practice Note: What does IP completion day mean for Immigration?Immigration officers (IOs) have a number of statutorily-conferred powers to enter premises to search for persons and evidence and, on entry, to arrest persons and seize evidence. These powers have increased significantly with the entry into force of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to immigration officers and designated customs officials in England and Wales) Order 2013, SI 2013/1542, and again with the enactment of the Immigration Act 2014 (IA 2014) and the Immigration Act 2016 (IA 2016).Premises'Premises' are any place and, in particular any:•vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft•offshore installation•renewable energy installation, or•tent or moveable structureThe power to enter and search premises for personsAn IO can lawfully enter a premises in four different ways:•entry to search and/or arrest with a warrant•entry to search and/or arrest without a warrant•Assistant Director (AD) letter (for business premises), and•informed consentIOs have the power to enter, by force if necessary,

Immigration offences

completion-day'>IP COMPLETION DAY: The Brexit transition period ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020. At this time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), transitional arrangements ended and significant changes began to take effect across the UK’s legal regime. This document contains guidance on subjects impacted by these changes. Before continuing your research, see Practice Note: What does IP completion day mean for Immigration?Immigration offences are matters that are dealt with under the criminal law. They are distinct from civil penalties which, in the context of immigration, are monetary penalties levied by the Home Office when enforcing laws or regulations.This Practice Note covers some of the main categories of immigration offence.For information on offences relating to illegal working, see Practice Note: Illegal workers—civil and criminal sanctions.Sources of law relevant to immigration offencesThere are many immigration-related offences on the statute books. Most of them are contained in the main immigration acts, including the following:•Immigration Act 1971 (IA 1971)•Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 (AIA 1996)•Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (IAA 1999)•Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (NIAA 2002)•Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004 (AI(TCE)A 2004)•Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (IANA 2006)•UK Borders Act 2007 (UKBA 2007)•Immigration Act 2014 (IA 2014), and•Immigration Act 2016 (IA 2016)Some immigration-related offences are included in other

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Which legislation, rules, or guidance deals with admission to the UK of non-British or Irish nationals who have already been granted leave to enter or remain but who have travelled back to the UK without their biometric permit card?

Which legislation, rules, or guidance deals with admission to the UK of non-British or Irish nationals who have already been granted leave to enter or remain but who have travelled back to the UK without their biometric permit card? A person who has been issued with a biometric residence permit will be a person who requires and has been granted leave to enter or remain for more than six months (sections 1(2) and 3(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 (IA 1971); and the Immigration (Biometric Registration) Regulations 2008, (the Biometric Regs 2008), SI 2008/3048, regs 3, 3A, 13 and 13A). As a person in this scenario, their leave will not lapse on leaving the Common Travel Area (IA 1971, s 3(4); Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 (Leave to Enter and Remain Order 2000), SI 2000/1161, reg 13). Leave to Enter and Remain Order 2000, SI 2000/1161, reg 13(5) states that ‘for the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 2A of Schedule 2 to the Act (examination by immigration officers, and medical examination), leave to remain which remains in force under this article shall be treated, upon the holder’s arrival in the United Kingdom, as leave to enter which has been granted to the holder before his arrival’. The issue of evidencing the person’s right to enter the UK falls under the provisions relating to the examination of embarking passengers. IA 1971, s 4(2) provides that IA 1971, Sch 2

Does an immigration officer need a warrant to enter a client’s home address?

Does an immigration officer need a warrant to enter a client’s home address? Immigration officers have wide—but far from unlimited—statutory powers to enter an individual’s home without a warrant issued by a JP or (in Scotland) a sheriff. Powers derive primarily from the Immigration Act 1971 (IA 1971) and have been amended multiple times over the years in order to widen powers of entry and arrest for immigration officers. An immigration officer has the power to enter and search, without a warrant but importantly with the authorisation of a chief immigration officer or above, any premises where they believe on reasonable grounds that a suspect is, in order to make an arrest for a range of suspected offences. What amounts to ‘reasonable grounds’ is an objective test, with the burden of proof lying on the immigration officer to establish that such grounds exist. The specified offences are: • assisting a breach of immigration law or the arrival of asylum claimants under IA 1971, ss 25, 25A and 25B • fraud, bigamy, theft, handling stolen goods and perjury uncovered in the course of exercising immigration duties (or the other offences listed in section 14(2) of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004) • making false or dishonest claims for

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Dishonesty not a ‘precedent fact’ (Ashrafuzzaman v ECO)

Immigration analysis: The Upper Tribunal (UT) confirmed (applying R (Giri) v SSHD) that the use of deception in an immigration application is not one of ‘precedent fact’. Consequently, a court or tribunal deciding an application for judicial review does not have jurisdiction to decide for itself whether or not the applicant in fact used deception. Instead, the tribunal or court’s jurisdiction is limited to its usual supervisory function of deciding whether the Secretary of State for the Home Department has made a public law error in reaching its conclusion. Written by Eva Doerr, barrister at Garden Court Chambers.

European Court of Human Rights asked to consider ‘right to rent’ challenge

Immigration analysis: A new challenge against the UK’s Right to Rent legislation has been taken to the European Court of Human Rights. The legislation has been a key plank of the government’s ‘Hostile Environment’, which has been found to cause racial discrimination by two court rulings. Leigh Day considers the case.

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