Will the UK Home Office be able to speed up deportations?

The Nationality and Borders Bill was passed in the second reading by the House of Commons on 6 July 2021with a view to changing the UK immigration system as it relates to asylum seekers and refugees.

As per the new reforms proposed on 15 October 2021, the Home Secretary will be able to impose visa penalties on countries that do not cooperate on deportations. According to UK media reports, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Eritrea and the Philippines are among the countries seen as reluctant to cooperate on the issue of deportation of their citizens living in the UK illegally.

Visa penalties could include suspending the issuance of any visas (including for work, study or settlement) to those of certain nationalities, imposing a 190 GBP surcharge on all entry clearance visa applications to the UK or increasing visa processing times. These new controls are meant to incentivise all countries to cooperate with the removal of their nationals who have no legal right to be in the UK.

Alongside this, changes to the Early Removal Scheme have also been made so that more foreign criminals will be removed sooner from the UK. Foreign national criminals will be eligible for removal up to 12 months before the end of their custodial sentence rather than the former 9 months.

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