MoJ announces plans for immediate deportation powers for foreign offenders
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced plans for new primary legislation enabling immediate deportation of foreign criminals upon sentencing. The proposed law will repeal longstanding legal provisions to allow foreign national offenders serving determinate sentences to be deported directly from prison. This builds upon secondary legislation introduced in June 2025, which will reduce the custodial threshold for deportation from 50% to 30% of a sentence once this is expected to come into force in September. The new powers will further reduce this to 0%, pending the passage of primary legislation. Exceptions will apply to individuals posing ongoing threats to national security or those serving life sentences, who will remain subject to full custodial terms before deportation consideration. Discretion will also be retained on a case-by-case basis. The measures will apply retrospectively to those already in custody and prospectively to new convictions, aiming to reduce taxpayer expenditure and mitigate public risk.