Home Office announces Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act receives Royal Assent
The Home Office has announced that the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 2 December 2025. The accompanying press release states that the Act creates multiple new criminal offences, including supplying small boat parts (maximum 14 years imprisonment), downloading or researching people smuggling information (maximum five years imprisonment), manufacturing vehicle compartments to conceal migrants (maximum five years imprisonment), and endangering lives during small boat crossings (maximum six years imprisonment). The legislation grants Immigration Enforcement, the National Crime Agency and police expanded powers to gather intelligence from mobile phones without requiring arrest, and enables seizure of electronic devices during property searches and enforcement raids. The Act excludes foreign sex offenders from protections under the Refugee Convention and places the Border Security Command on statutory footing. It establishes formal working arrangements between the Border Security Command and the UK Intelligence Community to identify and disrupt people smuggling networks. The Act also criminalises creating or posting online material that promotes small boat crossings or facilitates illegal migration services.