The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) was an executive agency of the British Home Office, created on 1 April 2007 and replaced on 1 April 2008. The agency replaced the

Immigration and Nationality Directorate The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) was part of the Home Office, a department of the United Kingdom government. The department had its headquarters in Croydon, South London, where it occupied thirteen buildings. The IND was responsib ...

, assuming its responsibilities for managing immigration control in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The BIA also considered applications for visas to enter the UK, permission to remain,

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

and in-country enforcement of immigration law. The headquarters were located in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. The BIA was responsible for delivering the e-border programme, a modernised border control system proposed by the UK Government, and a new programme of

biometric Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...

ally controlled

identity document An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

s for

foreign national A foreign national is any person (including an organization) who is not a national of a specific country. ("The term 'person' means an individual or an organization.") For example, in the United States and in its territories, a foreign national ...

s. On 1 April 2008, the BIA merged with

UKVisas UKVisas was the executive arm of the British Government responsible for processing applications for entry clearance to the United Kingdom. It was an executive agency jointly run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Border and Immigration ...

and the

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...

functions of

HM Revenue and Customs HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...

to form the

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

. Then, in 2012 and 2013, the UK Border Agency was split into three new organisations:

Border Force Border Force (BF) is a law-enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for frontline border control operations at air, sea and rail ports in the United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its estab ...

, responsible for front-line border control,

UK Visas and Immigration UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system. History The then Home Secre ...

, responsible for the UK visa system, and

Immigration Enforcement Immigration Enforcement (IE) is a law enforcement command within the Home Office, responsible for enforcing immigration law across United Kingdom. The force was part of the now defunct UK Border Agency from its establishment in 2008 until Hom ...

, responsible for enforcing immigration law.

External links

UK Visas and ImmigrationHome Office

Government plans travel database
, BBC News, 8 February 2009 {{Authority control Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Immigration to the United Kingdom Defunct law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom Right of asylum in the United Kingdom United Kingdom border control 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom 2008 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

See also

External links