Policy paper

Illegal Migration Bill: overarching factsheet

Updated 20 July 2023

What are we going to do?

• The Illegal Migration Bill will change the law to make it unambiguously clear that, if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here. Instead, you will be detained and promptly removed either to your home country or to a safe country where any asylum claim will be considered. You will no longer be able to frustrate removal attempts with late or spurious legal challenges or appeals, and once removed, you will have no right to re-entry, settlement or citizenship.

• The only way to come to the UK for asylum will be through safe and legal routes and, as we get a grip on illegal migration, we will create more of those routes. We will work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to identify those who are most in need so that the UK remains a safe haven for the most vulnerable. We will also introduce an annual cap on numbers, set by Parliament in consultation with local authorities to determine our capacity, and amendable in the face of humanitarian emergencies.

Why are we doing it?

• The UK asylum system is broken. The numbers arriving on small boats in 2022 exceeded 45,700, a 60% increase on the 28,500 who arrived in 2021.
• These journeys are extremely dangerous – people have lost their lives attempting to cross the UK’s busiest shipping lane in flimsy boats.
• These journeys are also unnecessary, as those making these crossings are coming from safe countries, such as France, where they could have claimed asylum.
• More recently, we have seen large numbers of people making these dangerous journeys who are from well-established safe countries, where it is clear they are not at risk of persecution.
• The people who make these journeys are manipulated by people smugglers who charge them thousands of pounds, before using this money to fund other serious crime.
• It’s not fair that those coming to the UK with the intention of becoming economic migrants are able to exploit our asylum system, which should be prioritising those whose lives are genuinely at risk.
• It’s also not fair on the British taxpayer. The current broken asylum system currently costs the UK some £3 billion a year and rising, including nearly £6 million a day on hotel accommodation.
• We cannot continue, year on year, with this inexorable rise in the number of illegal arrivals adding unacceptable pressures on our health, housing, educational and welfare services.

How are we going to do it?

The bill will include the following measures:

1. The Illegal Migration Bill will change the law so that people who come to the UK illegally will not be able to stay. Instead, they will be detained and then promptly removed, either to their home country or a safe third country like Rwanda. Crucially, the Home Secretary will be under a legal duty to make arrangements for the removal of illegal entrants falling within the scheme.

2. We will strengthen detention powers so that people can only apply for bail to the First-tier Tribunal after 28 days - this will make it easier to remove people.

3. People who enter the UK illegally will not have their asylum claim determined in the UK, and they will not be able to make a life here. Once removed, they will not be allowed to come back to the UK again.

4. If they cannot be returned to their home country, their asylum claim will be considered by a safe third country, such as Rwanda.

5. We will put a stop to the endless-merry-go round of spurious, last minute legal challenges that are used as a delay tactic to stop those with no right to be in the UK from being removed.

6. While those in scope will be able to challenge the decision to remove them from the UK, it will not prevent their removal and we will consider any legal challenges when they have been successfully removed to another country. If, exceptionally, there is a real risk that someone would suffer serious and irreversible harm if they were sent to Rwanda they would not be removed until it was safe to do so. Removal would also not take place if a person can demonstrate that they do not fall within the cohort subject to the duty to make arrangements for removal.

7. We are also taking action to tackle the abuse of our modern slavery system by people seeking to thwart their removal once their asylum claim has been denied. Those subject to the duty to make arrangements for removal will not be able to access the modern slavery system in the UK. If someone is identified as a potential victim of modern slavery, we will ensure they are safely returned home or to another safe country. This will mean that trafficking victims are protected, while preventing people from abusing our modern slavery laws to thwart their removal from the UK. Removal from the UK may be deferred where a person is co-operating with law enforcement agencies in an investigation into the circumstances of their trafficking or modern slavery, and the Home Secretary does not consider that the public interest in the person cooperating with that agency is outweighed by any significant risk of serious harm to members of the public which is posed by the person.

8. We are also expanding the list of countries that are considered safe in law, so it is unquestionably clear when someone doesn’t need our protection because they are obviously not at risk of persecution in their home country. As well as EU member States, the list will now include Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

9. As we restrict illegal migration, the government have greater capacity to provide a safe haven for those at risk of war and persecution. So, the bill provides for the government to commit to resettling a specific number of the most vulnerable refugees from around the world every year, working with local councils to understand their capacity first and following Parliamentary approval.

Key facts

• Over 45,700 people arrived in small boats in 2022
• There were over 40,000 asylum applications in 2022 from those who arrived in the UK via small boat.
• There were 74,751 asylum applications (main applicants only) in the UK in 2022, more than twice the number in 2019.
• In 2022, there were 110,171 individuals in receipt of support, 30% higher than 2021.
• Over 45,000 asylum seekers are currently being accommodated in hotels located across 200 local authorities.
• Between 2015 and December 2022. The UK has offered a place to 481,804 men, women and children seeking safety via safe and legal entry routes.

Frequently asked questions

How does the bill build on the Nationality and Borders Act 2022?

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 includes significant new measures to increase the fairness of our system so that we can better protect and support those in need of asylum, to deter illegal entry into the UK and to remove more easily from the UK those with no right to be here.

That Act included new and tougher criminal offences for those arriving here illegally or facilitating illegal entry to the UK; a new Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme; more robust age assessment procedures; and modern slavery reforms, helping to stop any potential misuse of the system.

We continue to implement the provisions of the Nationality and Borders Act at pace, but we must respond to the evolving threat.

Is the bill going to work?

If people know there is no way for them to stay in the UK, they won’t risk their lives and pay criminals thousands of pounds to get here.

Are the measures in the bill compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights?

Our focus is introducing legislation that will stop people from entering the country dangerously and illegally.

We need a radical response to the challenge presented by the illegal and dangerous Channel crossings. The government is satisfied that the provisions of the bill are capable of being applied compatibility with the Convention rights.

Parliament will have an opportunity to thoroughly scrutinise the bill and once approved the measures in the bill will have been expressly endorsed by Parliament. On that basis, the government would expect the provisions to be upheld by the courts.

Will the measures apply across the United Kingdom?

The measures in the bill will apply to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Immigration and nationality are reserved matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and therefore matters for the UK Government.

How much will these measures cost?

The current broken asylum system costs the UK around £3 billion a year and rising and around £6 million a day on hotel bills.

Doing nothing is not a cost-free option as the continued arrival of tens of thousands of illegal migrants each year places new burdens on central and local government and other local services. There is also no price you can put on saving the lives of those currently drowning as they attempt unnecessary crossings of the Channel in the hands of dangerous gangs.