Immigration Act 2016 receives Royal Assent

Royal assent has yesterday been given to the Immigration Bill. The government has announced that the new Immigration Act 2016 will “further strengthen the immigration system and make it harder than ever for people who have no right to be in the UK to live here“.

The Immigration Act 2016 will introduce, amongst other things, the following changes:

• new laws relating to illegal employment, including creating a new offence of illegal working

• new laws relating to the prosecution of landlords and agents who repeatedly fail to carry out “right to rent” checks or fail to take steps to remove illegal migrants from their property

• the provision of new powers to immigration enforcement officers to search individuals and properties and seize identity documents if they suspect someone to be in the United Kingdom illegally

• powers to electronically tag foreign national offenders on immigration bail

• restrict the support given to refused asylum seekers

• new laws requiring all public employees in “customer-facing roles” to have adequate English language skills

• laws imposing a new “skills levy” on businesses bringing migrant workers into the United Kingdom.

For more information as to how the Immigration Act 2016 will impact upon you or your business, please contact us on 020 3743 1700.