Immigration detention, removal and deportation

Immigration detention is the process of holding people in detention for immigration reasons. This is controlled by the Home Office. The Home Office may detain people whilst they are waiting to enter the UK, or whilst they are facing removal or deportation.

Some examples of when the Home Office may consider immigration detention include:

• when an asylum seeker has come to the UK from a county that the Home Office considers ‘safe’
• when someone does not have permission to be in the UK and the Home Office wants to remove them
• when the Home Office is considering the cancellation of someone’s status because, for example, they no longer meet the requirements of their visa
• when someone has committed criminal offences and is being considered for deportation.

The above examples may impact non-British citizens and people with limited leave or no leave to remain in the UK. However, there are some cases where people who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK (e.g. settlement) may be impacted. This could happen if they have been convicted of a crime, which has led the Home Office to consider deporting them.

Immigration detention is an administrative process, not a criminal one. This means it is possible to apply to be released from detention if you can argue that your removal from the UK is not imminent.

If you are detained and you need to apply to be released from detention you can contact the charity Bail for Immigration Detainees for free legal assistance.

If you are detained, you are entitled to know why. You should be given paperwork explaining the reasons for your detention and that you have a right to apply for immigration bail.

Immigration bail is granted to all those who do not currently have any immigration status in the UK, and who are not detained.

There are two main ways to apply for immigration bail:

• The first is on form Bail 401, which is sent to the Home Office
• The second is on form B1, which is sent to the First-tier Tribunal closest to the detention centre in which you are being detained. To find out which tribunal you should submit your bail application to, you can ask someone in the welfare team at the application centre; or call the tribunal service on +44 (0)300 123 1711.

You do not need a lawyer to help you apply for bail; you can do this yourself. If you do prepare your bail application yourself, you can obtain useful advice from the charity Bail for Immigration Detainees, who have a free advice line 020 7456 9750 and can provide practical support.

If you or someone you know is detained under immigration powers, it can be incredibly stressful. But there are people who can help you. The following charities can provide advice and assistance:

• Bail for Immigration Detainees
• Detention Action
• Hibiscus Initiatives
• Jesuit Refugee Service
• SOAS Detainee Support
• Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group

There are also independent duty solicitors who attend detention centres on most days of the week. You can access these solicitors free of charge – usually by booking an appointment via the welfare team within the detention centre. Legal aid is available for bail application, as long as you meet the financial requirements.

Removals and deportations are both processes which involve the Home Office organising for someone to be sent to their country of nationality or origin. This may involve the Home Office detaining the person in immigration detention and arranging flights for their travel to the destination country.

Please see the following sections about the circumstances in which a person may be removed or deported.

If you do not have immigration status, and you do not have any pending applications with the Home Office, you could be removed from the UK. This means the Home Office can detain you and arrange your flight back to your home country. You may not be given any warning of this by the Home Office.

If you are undocumented or you are unclear about your immigration status, you should seek legal advice about your options. See our section on Insecure and unclear immigration status for further information. Find a local immigration lawyer via the Law Society or Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.

If you are removed from the UK, you may be banned from re-entering the country. The length of these bans ranges from one to 10 years. This depends on how, at whose expense and when you are removed, following notification that you are liable for removal. However, these bans are not imposed if you are applying to re-enter the UK via a family application. More information on this can be found within the Home Office’s guidance policy.

In the UK, deportation refers to the removal of a person who has been convicted of a criminal offence. In these cases, the Home Office is seeking to remove the person from the UK and prevent their re-entry. This is different from removal, as it applies solely to those who have been convicted of a crime. However, not everyone who has criminal convictions will be subject to deportation.

In most cases, the Home Office will not try to deport someone for offences which do not have a prison sentence. It is also unlikely that the Home Office will try to deport someone for first-time offences if they have a prison sentence of less than 12 months.

If someone has been convicted of an offence with a prison sentence of 12 months or more, the Home Office will automatically consider them for deportation. This also applies to those who have been recognised as refugees.

The Home Office can only remove refugee protection if there has been a particularly serious crime that is now considered to be an offence for which a 12-month sentence has been issued. The Home Office is also likely to consider deportation of ‘persistent offenders’, such as someone who has committed at least three offences of which one resulted in prison time of any length.

The Home Office will write to you if they consider you for deportation from the UK. If you are being considered for deportation, you should seek legal assistance immediately. Find Legal Aid lawyer.

Legal aid is available if you fear for your life if returning to your country. However, legal aid is not widely available if you wish to challenge your deportation on the basis of the length of time you have lived in the UK, or your relationships with a partner and/or children.

You may, however, be able to apply for Exceptional Case Funding to the Legal Aid Agency, to cover your legal fees for this challenge. The NRPF Network offers a brief summary of Exceptional Case Funding, and The Public Law Project and Bail for Immigration Detainees have also produced useful further guidance.

For more information about accessing help if you are facing deportation, please see:

• Bail for Immigration Detainees: Are you facing deportation?
• The Right to Remain Toolkit: If you are facing removal or deportation from the UK

If you can't find a legal aid lawyer and you are being considered for deportation, you can also seek legal assistance from fee paying lawyers. Find a local immigration lawyer via the Law Society or Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.