: cs@britishcitizenshiptest.co.uk

UK Immigration Policy






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United Kingdom immigration law is the law that relates to whoever may enter, work and remain in the United Kingdom. There are many reasons for people migrating to the UK. The three main reasons are people migrating for economic reasons, those seeking asylum and those migrating to live and reunite with family members. The UK Visas and Immigration now manages applications for people who want to visit, work, study or settle in the UK.

The Immigration Act of 1971 is an Act of the UK that enforces all the laws concerning immigration. The Immigration policy of UK decides who should come to the UK and the purpose of their stay in the UK. Immigration to the UK has gone up several notches compared to the last few decades. Now, migrants make up a bigger proportion of the UK population than in the year 2000. According to the Home Office, non-EU nationals have remained a fairly stable percentage of the population, while EU nationals are making up an increased proportion due to freedom of movement rules between different members of the EU states. (All this could change with Brexit).

The UK Border Agency, also known as UKBA was the border control agency of UK Government and part of the Home Office till 31 March 2013. It was then split into two new organisations

   UK Visas and Immigration - For visas
   Immigration Enforcement- For immigration law enforcement
UK Visas and Immigration

In 2008, one of the changes for the Immigration Policy for UK included the UK Government phasing a new points-based immigration system for those outside of the European Economic Area. As per their UK immigration policy, those who wish to move to the UK from outside the EU have a different set of rules compared to EU members. You can apply for the following visas:

   Tier 1 - this is for investors, exceptional talent and the like
   Tier 2 - This is the most common visa for skilled workers
   Tier 3 - For low-skilled workers, however, the Government has not allocated visas for anyone under this
   Tier 4 - Student visas
   Tier 5 - short term education and voluntary programs

The other visa types like spouse visa and family visa allow you to enter as a family member. All the visas work on a point-based system and come with conditions like the need for a sponsor, knowledge of English and agreeing not to claim certain benefits over a fixed period of time.

Those who wish to seek asylum should first enter the UK. You can also enter the UK should you meet certain criteria that can be checked at the official site.

The Immigration Enforcement

The Immigration Enforcement is for enforcing the immigration law in the United Kingdom. It is established from a section of the former UK Border Agency which is responsible for enforcing immigration law. Those who disagree with any decision made by the Home Office could approach immigration and asylum tribunal.

It could be any number of reasons like breaches of freedom of movement, and issues related to family and human rights. The Immigration Enforcement often conducts "visits" to residential and business premises in order to apprehend immigration offenders. During their visit, they can question suspected individuals about their immigration status and arrest anyone found to be in breach of immigration law.

Immigration (places of detention) direction 2014

In cases of breach of the immigration law of UK, the Immigration direction which is a part of the Immigration Act 1971 allows detention of any offending individual in specifically allocated spots. However, the individual cannot be detained for a period of not more than five consecutive days since the day the person was first brought to the facility

These spots could include
   1) Ports
  2) Police Stations
  3) Control Zone
  4) Hospitals
  5) Immigration Removal centres across the UK.
Brexit - Changes in Immigration Laws

However, with Brexit, the laws, especially for EU citizens, are set to change. A draft Immigration Bill of the Theresa May Government had envisaged an end to free movement following a no-deal exit. As part of the post-Brexit immigration policy, the UK government is proposing a ‘skills-based’ immigration system requiring all migrants whether from the EU or beyond, should apply for permission to enter and remain in the UK. However, some respite has been provided for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members between the Brexit exit date and 31st Dec 2020. You should keep a watch on the Official site for the latest updates on the Immigration policy.