Immigration Act Receives Royal Assent

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill Receives Royal Assent

Home Office Press Release
30 March 2006 

Provisions in the Act will:
* restrict appeals for those refused entry to the UK to work or
study. The UK will continue to welcome to the UK genuine migrants
who meet the transparent and objective criteria set out under the
Government's Points-Based System for managed migration;
* tackle illegal working through a new civil penalties scheme for
employers by introducing fines of up to 2,000 GBP per illegal
employee, custodial sentences of up to two-years and unlimited
fines for those found knowingly to use or exploit illegal workers;
* strengthen our borders by allowing data sharing between the
Immigration Service, police and customs, as part of the e-Borders
programme. It will support the global roll-out of fingerprinting
visa applicants by giving powers to Immigration Officers to verify
identity against biometrics contained in travel documents; and
* respond to new security threats by denying asylum to terrorists;
improving our ability to strip citizenship from and deport those
who pose a serious risk to the UK's interests; and speed up the
appeals process in national security deportation cases.