The Immigration Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 is the fifth major piece of legislation in the field of asylum and immigration since 1993.
Commencement
The Immigration Asylum & Nationality Act 2006 received Royal Assent on the 30th March 2006 and by virtue of a second commencement order, the main provisions took effect on 31 August 2006 by virtue of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (Commencement No.2) Order 2006.
Appeals
The first sections of the Act are concerned with appeals and impose new restrictions on the right to appeal against Home Office asylum or immigration decisions. The most significant is section 4 which limits the right of appeal against refusal of entry clearance to cases in which the application for entry clearance was made either for the purpose of entering as a dependant or a visitor – in both cases limited by reference to regulations made by the Home Secretary. Significantly, there will no longer be a right of appeal against refusal of entry clearance as a student.
Section 1 inserts a new section 83A into the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Act 2002 to introduce a new right of appeal for people who are no longer recognised as refugees but who are permitted to stay in the UK on some other basis. Section 2 amends section 82(2)(g) of the 2002 Act to provide a right of appeal against a decision to remove under section 10(1)(b) of the 1999 Act. This will give the person a separate right of appeal at each of the two decision stages; the first at the revocation stage and the second at the stage the decision to remove is taken. Section 3 amends section 84 of the 2002 Act. It provides that an appeal under the new section 83A may only be brought on the ground that removal would breach the United Kingdom’s obligations under the Refugee Convention. Section 4 substitutes one provision for Sections 88A, 90 and 91 of the 2002 Act which limits all appeals against refusal of entry clearance to limited grounds (human rights and race discrimination), with the exception of those listed in the categories. By section 6 a person may not appeal against refusal of leave to enter the United Kingdom unless: (1) on his arrival in the United Kingdom he had entry clearance and (2) the purpose of entry specified in the entry clearance is the same as that specified in his application for leave to enter. Section 89 of the 2002 Act restricts rights of appeal against refusal of permission to enter at the port of both visitors and students who do not hold an entry clearance. This restriction limits the grounds of appeal to human rights and race discrimination. If the appeal is exercised in the UK it is restricted to asylum. A right of appeal remains in all cases on both human rights and race discrimination grounds.
Section 7 provides powers to hear only human rights aspects of national security appeal cases in country with the national security aspects of the case.
Employment
Section 15 imposes civil (and not criminal) penalties in the form of fines on employers of persons over the age of 16 subject to immigration control in defined circumstances. A person is subject to immigration control if he requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom under the provisions of the Immigration Act 1971. The defined circumstances are that: