An immigration officer is a

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

official whose job is to ensure that

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

applicants,

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 or those seeking

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 ...

at the border, detecting and apprehending those that have breached the border and removing them, or pursuing those in breach of immigration and criminal laws.

United Kingdom

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, immigration officers are present in the

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 ...

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 ...

– both law enforcement commands of the Home Office – and the

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...

. Powers are conferred by the Immigration Act 1971 and who also act in accordance with Immigration Rules. The Immigration Rules are statutory instruments laid down by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

under Section 3(2) of the 1971 Act which governs the regulation of entry into the United Kingdom. The Rules are amended by Primary Legislation when required, and provide a framework to ensure that those that come to, or remain in, the UK do so legally, and those that do not can be removed. Immigration officers' powers over citizens of the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

(EEA) and their family members are governed by the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006. Immigration officers have the power of arrest and detention conferred on them by the Immigration Act 1971, when both at ports and inland. In practice, port immigration officers exercise powers under Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971 and inland immigration Officers under S28A-H of the Immigration Act 1971 and paragraph 17 of Schedule 2. This has led to separate training for port and inland officers, where port officers are not trained in Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). "Designated Immigration Officers" are port immigration officers who have been trained in detention under PACE. The archetypal power of arrest is for an immigration or nationality offence, which involves a person's entitlement to be in the UK."What are immigration officers powers of stop & arrest"
, "Immigration Media", 20 March 2015 Though immigration officers also have powers of arrest outside immigration and nationality offences under the

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed r ...

, the

Crime and Courts Act 2013 The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22) is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced to the House of Lords in May 2012. Its main purpose is to create the United Kingdom National Crime Agency which replaced the Serious Or ...

, and under the

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c.11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (Emer ...

discussed below. NCA Officers holding immigration powers are tri-warranted, also holding the powers of a constable and customs officer.

and

immigration officers are typically uniformed, carrying personal protective equipment including body armour, handcuffs and extendable batons. NCA officers with immigration powers can work in uniformed or undercover capacities.

immigration officers also hold the powers of a

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

, typically carrying out both customs and immigration roles at ports of entry.

At ports

An immigration officer at a port has the power to detain any person without arrest who is not a

British citizen British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

to investigate whether they qualify for entry to the United Kingdom under Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971. Schedule 2 also gives an immigration officer the power to arrest without warrant anyone who is liable to detention. The passing of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 created a provision for the Secretary of State to designate individuals as a "general customs official". Immigration officers who have received the appropriate training are designated as general customs officials and can carry out customs functions in additions to their immigration ones. The passing of the act supersedes the process where the Customs Commissioners would designate officers as customs officials. Designated Immigration Officers (DIOs) are designated by the Home Secretary, and only if they are fit and proper for the purpose, and suitably trained. Under Section 2 of the UK Borders Act 2007, DIOs can detain any person without arrest in a port in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

if they think that the individual may be liable to arrest by a constable for any offence under Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or Article 26(1), (2) or (3) of the

Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 The Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 is a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in Northern Ireland similar to the framework for the powe ...

, or if there is a warrant for their arrest. They can be searched and detained using reasonable force for up to three hours, and can be pursued if they leave the port. If a DIO detains a person, they must arrange for a constable to attend as soon as is reasonably practicable. It is an offence to abscond, assault or obstruct a DIO exercising their powers under this section. However, Immigration Officers also have far broader powers under the

to examine, question, and search anyone in order to establish whether or not they appear to be or have been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. A person may be detained under Schedule 7 for up to 9 hours. The Immigration Officer need not have reasonable suspicion that the detainee has in fact been involved in terrorism. The detainee has a duty to provide the Immigration Officer with all information requested and a failure to do so constitutes an offence, punishable by 3 months imprisonment and a fine.

Inland

Under Section 28A of the Immigration Act 1971, Immigration Officers have wide-ranging arrest powers. They can arrest: *non-British citizens if they are in the country illegally, or have remained beyond the conditions imposed on them *non-British citizens if, be means of deception, they obtain, or seek to obtain, entry or permission to remain in the UK. *any person who assists a breach of EU Immigration Law by a non-EU national. *any person who assists a breach asylum seekers for gain. *any person who assists a facilitate a breach of a deportation order in force against an individual who is a citizen of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. *any person who obstructs an Immigration Officer or other person lawfully acting in the execution of the 1971 Act. *any person who has an immigration stamp or replica immigration stamp in their possession. *any person who **alters a registration card with intent to deceive or to enable another to deceive, **has a false or altered registration card in his possession without reasonable excuse, **uses or attempts to use a false registration card for a purpose for which a registration card is issued, **uses or attempts to use an altered registration card with intent to deceive, **makes or possess an article designed to be used in making a false registration card, **makes or possess an article designed to be used in altering a registration card with intent to deceive or to enable another to deceive. A specially-trained Immigration Officer working in a

Criminal Investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservat ...

Team also has the power to arrest without warrant any person that he has reasonable suspicion of committing criminal offences of obtaining or seeking to obtain leave to remain by deception, assisting unlawful immigration to a member state, helping an asylum seeker to enter the UK, and assisting entry to UK of anyone in breach of a deportation or exclusion order; and also several non-immigration criminal offences such as conspiracy to defraud, bigamy, perjury, theft, obtaining services by deception, fraud, forgery and counterfeiting, trafficking for sexual exploitation, possessing and making false identity documents. An Immigration Officer can enter and search a premises owned or occupied by someone arrested for an offence without warrant for nationality documents. It is an offence to assault an Immigration Officer, and an Immigration Officer may arrest a person if they reasonably suspect that the person has committed or is about to commit that offence. On 13 September 2018, the Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 received

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

. This added a subsection which states any common assault and/or battery on an immigration officer is also now indictable and therefore subject to a maximum of 12 months if tried on indictment At all times, an Immigration Officer may arrest any person that he has a reasonable suspicion of committing an indictable offence using the "any person powers" (also known as

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – that is, a person who is not acting as a sworn law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in which ...

) contained in Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Hong Kong

The immigration legislation in Hong Kong is enforced by the

Immigration Department The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained l ...

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, as per the Immigrants and Emigrants Act no 20 of 1948, enforcement is carried out by the Department of Immigration and Emigration headed by the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration who is also the Commissioner for Registration of Persons of Indian Origin.

Australia

In Australia, immigration officers are employees of the

Department of Home Affairs (Australia) The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and ...

. Immigration officers are law enforcement officials that operate under the

Migration Act 1958 The ''Migration Act 1958'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that governs immigration to Australia. It set up Australia’s universal visa system (or entry permits). Its long title is "An Act relating to the entry into, and pres ...

. The term "immigration officer" can apply to officers of the Department who assess and make decisions on visa applications. It can also be relate to

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...

Officers that perform immigration duties at sea ports, airports, immigration detention facilities, and field compliance. Border Force Officers have additional powers under the Australian Border Force Act 2015.

South Korea

In South Korea, immigration officers are employees of Korea Immigration Service which is a part of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Immigration Officers oversee Human Movements at Port of Entry, protect the

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

and issue

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

and enforce

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. They also conduct

Naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

to get the South Korean Citizenship, control Permanent Residency of South Korea and other foreign citizens in Korea.

References

External links

UK Border Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immigration Officer Immigration Law enforcement occupations in the United Kingdom Law enforcement occupations in Sri Lanka