New reforms to deportation and removal rules will make it easier to remove foreign criminals committing crimes in the UK, the Home Office will announce tomorrow.
Currently the Home Office is only informed of foreign nationals given prison sentences and deportation arrangements focus predominantly on those sentenced to more than a year in prison.
Under the new arrangements, the Home Office will be informed of all foreign nationals convicted of offences – not just those who receive prison sentences – and will be able to use wider removal powers on other crimes including swifter action to remove people who have recently arrived in the country but have already committed crimes.
The overhaul will make it easier to remove those who commit offences – including violence against women and girls, street and knife crimes – before the threat they pose escalates.
The reforms will be announced tomorrow as part of the government’s Immigration White Paper, which will radically reform Britain’s failed immigration system.
The Home Office will consider all offences, not just those that carry a 12-month custodial sentence, and strengthen powers to remove perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
Any foreign national placed on the Sex Offenders Register – regardless of sentence length – will be classed as having committed a ‘serious crime’ with no right to asylum protections in the UK.
Since July 2024, the Home Office has removed 3,594 foreign criminals from the UK – a 16% increase on the same period 12 months prior.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
It is a basic requirement – those who come to the UK should abide by our laws. The system for returning foreign criminals has been far too weak for too long. Already we have increased the number of foreign national offenders being removed since the election. But we need much higher standards. The rules need to be respected and enforced.
We need to restore control so that net migration comes down and proper standards and order are returned.
As part of the White Paper, the government will also update refusal policies and immigration rules to mirror these changes. This means if a person commits an offence while on a short-term visa, they will be refused if they make a fresh application.
New measures will be explored to swiftly cancel visas to those who commit crimes, ensuring action is taken against offenders before they can put down roots in the UK.
Notes to editors
- As part of the Government’s Plan for Change to have Safer Streets and Secure Borders, and efforts to digitise information flows, the Government will be working with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure data on convictions of migrants in the UK is shared swiftly so the necessary action can be taken.
