Issued by: Home Office

Government tables 2 amendments to the Immigration and Asylum Bill as part of a wider package of reforms.

Migrants who misrepresent their family circumstances or make last-minute asylum claims will face tougher rules under new measures to prevent abuse of the system.

The government has tabled amendments to the Immigration and Asylum Bill [https://tinyurl.com/5cpa3c65] to close Article 8 loopholes and crack down on individuals who lodge last-minute asylum claims.

The Home Secretary is determined to stop foreign criminals and other migrants abusing human rights laws to dodge deportation from the UK.

New reforms will mean that courts will have to consider how long and how often a parent has been in contact with their child when considering if family life exists.

This follows the bill defining ‘family life’ as typically restricted to core, co-habiting family relationships. This week’s amendments aim to strengthen the rules further, preventing migrants from bolstering their Article 8 claims by moving back into the family home shortly before making a claim.

New rules will also be introduced to enable immigration claims made at the last-minute without good reason to damage a person’s credibility, with decision makers required to factor in the timing of evidence when considering claims.

This will build on measures in the Immigration and Asylum Bill to introduce an expedited decision making process for late claims, helping to address the issue of individuals withholding information or raising a last minute claim which severely delays their legitimate removal from the UK.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said:

"The British public must trust that their immigration system is secure, controlled and not open to abuse.

"These reforms will protect its integrity, prevent exploitation and ensure that those with no right to be here are swiftly removed.

"This builds on our work to ramp up removals and slash asylum costs, while providing sanctuary to those who need it."

The bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons with a majority of 174 in July.

It will establish a mechanism to require asylum seekers receiving taxpayer funded accommodation and other support to contribute to those costs when they are financially able to do so.

The payment will take the form of a flat rate charge, with eligible adults making regular payments above a threshold set by the Home Secretary.

An Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (IIAA) will also be set up to deliver a swift and fair appeals system that restores public confidence. It can scale to meet changing demand and ensure cases flow through quickly to removal where appeals are unsuccessful.

As part of this, a single appeal route process will be established to ensure there is no advantage to bringing forward new claims to frustrate the system.

A single definition of a protection claim will also be introduced, combining refugee status and humanitarian protection, thereby simplifying the decision making and the appeals process.

The bill will enter the line-by-line scrutiny stage of its progression through Parliament next week.

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