The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c 13) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It is the fifth major piece of legislation relating to immigration and asylum since 1993.

Commencement Orders

Although the Act 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 othe ...

on 30 March, its provisions did not take effect immediately, until a series of commencement orders brought the provisions into force incrementally:
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2006
(S.I. 2006/1497 (C. 50)), made on 2 June 2006, brought into force on 16 June 2006 the sections on grants, proof of right of abode, accommodation, removal: cancellation of leave, deprivation of citizenship, deprivation of right of abode, and money. It also repealed section 40A(3) of the

British Nationality Act 1981 The British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983. History In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which ha ...

.
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2006
(S.I. 2006/2226 (C. 75)), made on 13 August 2006, enacted the bulk of the Act's provisions including the sections on variation of leave to enter or remain, removal, grounds of appeal, failure to provide documents, refusal of leave to enter, deportation, continuation of leave, consequential amendments, code of practice, discrimination: code of practice, documents produced or found, fingerprinting, attendance for fingerprinting, searches: contracting out, information: embarking passengers, inspection of detention facilities, capacity to make nationality application, arrest pending deportation, refugee convention: construction, refugee convention:certification, detained persons: national minimum wage. It also repealed sections of the Prison Act 1952 (c.52), the

Immigration Act 1971 The Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration and nearly entirely remaking the field of British immigration law. The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of ...

(c.77), the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 and the

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It received royal assent on 7 November 2002. This Act created a number of changes to the law including: British Nationals with no othe ...

(c.41).
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2006
(S.I. 2006/2838 (C. 98)), made on 4 December 2006, enacted the remainder of the Act's provisions including the sections on abandonment of appeal and acquisition of British nationality.

Summary of changes

Appeals

The Act introduced a number of changes to the immigration appeals process, most notably restricting the right of appeal for refusal of entry clearance in cases where the subject intends to enter the country as a dependent, a visitor or a student. This leaves the only grounds for appeal open to human rights and race discrimination reasons. Appeals launched within the UK can be for asylum cases only.

Employment

The Act introduces civil (not criminal) penalties in the form of

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

s for employers who take on people over the age of 16 who are subject to immigration control (that is, have no entry clearance or leave to remain, or no valid permit to work in the UK).

Information

The Act allows immigration officers to request and obtain

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

data (such as

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

s) from immigration arrivals for the purposes of proving they are the rightful holder of their passport or travel documents. It allows the police to request and obtain advance information on passengers and crew of flights and ships arriving in or leaving the United Kingdom, or those expected to do so. The Act requires the

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) was a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration and asylum decisions. It was created on 4 April 2005, replacing the former Immigration Appellate A ...

and the

Special Immigration Appeals Commission The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (also known by the acronym SIAC) is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by ...

to first consider if an application for refugee status meets article 1F of the

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is and sets out the rights of individuals ...

, if the decision by the Home Secretary is to refuse on that basis.

Citizenship and Right of Abode

The Act contains several provisions empowering the Home Secretary to deprive a person of British citizenship (or

Right of Abode The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there witho ...

) if it is considered that such deprivation is "conducive to the public good".

Notable applications of the Act

*Australian

Guantánamo Bay Guantánamo Bay (, ) is a bay in Guantánamo Province at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the largest harbor on the south side of the island and it is surrounded by steep hills which create an enclave that is cut off from its immediate hint ...

inmate David Matthew Hicks applied for British citizenship in 2005 after the previous 2002 legislation allowed citizenship by virtue of maternal heritage. It was considered that the British government may petition for his release as had been done for other British nationals. After a lengthy court battle with the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

, Hicks was granted British citizenship on 5 July 2006, but then stripped of it several hours later under section 56 of the Act allowing the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

to "deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good." * Anna Chapman

References

External links

*Emplaw.co.uk website
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006

UK Legislation

*
Explanatory notes
to the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006. {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2006 Immigration law in the United Kingdom British nationality law Right of asylum legislation in the United Kingdom Immigration legislation