HOME OFFICE News
Release (006/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 15
January 2008
A bill to make
newcomers to the UK earn the right to stay here, strengthen the
border, and ensure we have a firm but fair immigration system was
published in Parliament today.
The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill will lay down a
radical new approach to British citizenship that will require all
migrants to speak English and obey the law if they want to gain
citizenship and stay permanently in Britain - while speeding up
the path to citizenship for those who contribute to the community
by being active citizens.
Under the new system full access to benefits and social housing
will be reserved for citizens and permanent residents - which
means if you are not a citizen full access to benefits will not be allowed.
Foreign nationals who commit serious offences already face
automatic consideration for deportation - our earned citizenship
proposals go further. Anyone sent to prison will face removal and
even those committing minor offences will normally need to wait
until their conviction is spent before they can become citizens.
These measures will work alongside the powerful points system to
ensure that only those people the country needs can come - and
stay - here. This system will allow the Government to manage
immigration which in turn will help contribute to future
population projections and control.
Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:
"We are clear that newcomers should speak English, work
hard, and earn the right to stay here - and only get British
citizenship once they have proved their commitment to the country.
"Migration only works if it brings benefits and these
measures will ensure that only those migrants that make a positive
impact on their local community will be able to stay in the UK."
The Bill will strengthen Britain's security by giving
frontline staff of the UK Border Agency combined customs and
immigration powers - making it easier than ever to crack down on
illegal immigration and the smuggling of drugs and weapons.
The UK's border will be further strengthened by enabling
routine border controls on air and sea routes for people
travelling between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The power to control people travelling within the Common Travel
Area (CTA) will ensure the UKBA has the tools it needs to protect
the border and to pave the way for the hi-tech e-Borders programme
- to check travellers against watchlists - on air and sea routes
between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
These new measures mean that the UK Border Agency will be able to:
* request identification for passengers travelling by air and sea
between Britain and the Republic of Ireland; and
* conduct intelligence-led operations to check those entering via
the land border in Northern Ireland and those arriving from the
Crown dependencies.
The Home Office has made it clear there are no plans to introduce
fixed controls on the land border between the Republic of Ireland
and Northern Ireland or on routes from the Crown dependencies to
the UK.
The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill will also ensure a
firm and fair immigration system by introducing:
* a duty on the UK Border Agency to safeguard the welfare of
children in its work;
* new rules to give automatic British nationality to a child born
in the UK where at least one parent is a foreign or commonwealth
member of the British armed forces; and
* a remedy to fix the current situation whereby a father could
pass on his British nationality to a child born abroad before 1961
while a mother could not.
These changes are part of the biggest shake-up to the immigration
system for a generation along with the new Australian-style points
based system, a high-tech system for counting people in and out of
the country and the introduction of ID cards for foreign nationals.
Notes to editors
1. The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill can be found at
the following link: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk
2. The Government has today also published its plans for the
reform of the Common Travel Area in Strengthening the Common
Travel Area. A link to http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/consultations/closed/
3. The Home Office carried out three consultations which
contributed to the Bill:
* The Path to Citizenship
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/pathtocitizenship/
* Strengthening the Common Travel Area
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/strentheningthecommontravelarea/
* Keeping Children Safe
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/keepingchildrensafe/
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