Deportation and Detention

You may be at risk from deportation if you are a non-British citizen, and:

• The Secretary of State believes that your presence in the UK is against the ‘public good’.
• You have committed a criminal offence in the UK and received a custodial sentence over 12 months in length.
• You have been recommended for deportation by the criminal court as part of your sentence.

• You will be contacted by the Home Office to indicate that they have noted your liability for deportation, and asked to respond within 20 working days. It is important to reply to this letter
• You will be notified of the Home Office decision in response to any claim you make in response and asked to provide any reasons for which that decision should not be enforced. This decision is not appealable and you should always reply where you are served with this kind of correspondence
• Your protection and/or human rights claim will be considered and either granted or refused. Any refusal made by the Home Office at this stage may be appealable

If you have received a letter from the Home Office informing you of their decision to remove you from the UK, then consult an immigration lawyer immediately if you wish to challenge the decision. A deportation immigration lawyer will assess your case against the Home Office’s reasons for pursuing such action, and advise you on the next steps.

If you are in the community when you are served within this decision, you may be required to visit an immigration reporting centre (there are 14 throughout the UK) on a regular basis whilst you remain in the UK to challenge the decision, and made subject to other conditions (such as residence or electronic monitoring).

If you are deported from the UK and your challenge to this removal is unsuccessful then you will not be able to return to the UK for at least 10-years, until the order is overturned.

Unfortunately there is not a set answer for this question. The individualistic and complex nature of deportation and detention cases means that the processing times can vary dramatically. It is worth bearing in mind that cases relating to deportation and/or detention can be prolonged over many years and are often not something which can be resolved overnight.

In the UK, there is not a time limit on how long an individual can be held in immigration detention but there are government policies, for those who may be considered vulnerable or at risk, that should be adhered to by border staff and enforcement officers. Written reviews should be conducted on a monthly basis and the results notified to the detainee.

If you believe that the Home Office has wrongly detained you, a qualified immigration advisor can conduct a full review and advise you on whether the detention is unlawful. Where unlawful detention is established, a claim for compensation can be prepared and you may be awarded substantial damages.

Immigration detention refers to holding people in custody whilst they wait for permission to enter the UK, or be removed from it.  Policy reasons for detaining typically include one or more of the following: to remove the person from the UK; to establish their identity or the basis of their immigration or asylum claim; where there is reason to believe they will abscond if released on bail; or when release is not considered to be ‘conducive to the public good’. Detention typically ends in either removal from the UK, or release, usually on immigration bail whilst a person’s visa status is regularised.

Deportation, not to be confused with removal, refers to the process of forcibly removing a non-British citizen from the UK who have committed criminal offences that have triggered automatic deportation action, or in a move that the Home Office believes is for ‘the public good’ (e.g. an individual is in the UK illegally or has since committed a crime). The Immigration Rules state that where a person is liable to deportation the presumption shall be that the public interest requires deportation so it is important to raise all lines of argument at an early stage of the process. Someone who is deported from the UK cannot return for at least 10 years.

We have a contract with the Legal Aid Agency which enables us to provide free legal advice and assistance in some immigration cases but not all types of cases will be covered by this form of funding. However, please talk to your immigration lawyer to see if this is something which you can benefit from, and where appropriate, we can assess your case.