Amendments to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
By : Hanna Barzinji
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill has passed its committee stage, and the
government proposed a few amendments to the Bill as it was originally introduced.
The first new clause relates to the EU settlement scheme and ensures that an EEA or Swiss
national or their family member who has immigration leave granted under the EU Settlement
Scheme can enforce rights directly under the withdrawal (or other separation) agreement.
This is even if the person, or their family member, was not resident in the UK or the Islands
in accordance with Union (or other equivalent) law at the end of the implementation period.
This clause confirms that anyone holding status under the EU Settlement Scheme shall have
enforceable rights under the agreement, without having to prove that they were exercising
treaty rights at the time.
The second amendment relates to conditions on leave and bail. It will amend section 3(1)(c)
of the Immigration Act 1971, which sets out the conditions that can be applied to a person's
grant of limited leave to enter or remain in the UK, to extend immigration bail conditions to
those who have permission to be in the UK. The new clause will add the following
conditions:
– an electronic monitoring condition (children will be exempt)
– a condition requiring the person to be at a particular place between particular times,
either on particular days or on any day;
– a condition requiring the person to remain within a particular area;
– a condition prohibiting the person from being in a particular area;
– such other conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit.
Finally, the scope of the Bill as stated in clause 57 was expanded to cover both the Channel
Islands and the Isle of Man.
The effectiveness of this Bill is being considered by The Joint Committee on Human
Rights to assess compatibility with international and domestic human rights standards.