UK Immigration Service

The United Kingdom Immigration Service, also known as UKIS, was from 1906 to 2008 the distinctive operational arm of the UK Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) of the Home Office. It was responsible for the day to day administration of the United Kingdom's Border control and the operation of in-country enforcement against immigration offenders such as illegal entrants and overstayers as well as prosecutions for associated offences.

History

The UK Immigration Service, (or HM Immigration Service as it was often titled), came into being with the creation of warranted staff who had certain powers of arrest for the purposes of dealing with immigration offenders. The service was distinct from its administrative arm, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. It enjoyed a unified structure under the command of HM Chief Inspector of Immigration until the borders and enforcement arms were split in 1992.

Organisation

The UK Border Agency is now divided into regional structures with a Senior Director in charge of each. Border security and internal law enforcement operations are managed by three Senior Directors, one with responsibility for external controls including overseas visa issuing posts, one with responsibility for UK Borders and one with responsibility for all internal immigration control including asylum, applications to remain and enforcement. These Senior Directors are members of 'The Board', the senior management group that runs the UKBAAlthough the term UK Immigration Service is still widely used to describe the operational arm of BIA the UK Immigration Service officially ceased to exist as a distinct entity when the former Immigration and Nationality Directorate was re-branded to become UKBA and, although the above grades remain, they have no unifying command structure.

UKIS grades are/were reflective of the legislation that controls the immigration function that stipulates that the decision to refuse a person leave to enter the United Kingdom is taken by an Immigration Officer only with the authority of a Chief Immigration Officer or an HM Inspector (immigration inspector). The decision that a person inside the UK is in breach of immigration law and liable for administrative removal or deportation can be taken by an Immigration Officer or a caseworker of Executive Officer grade or above acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, with the authority of a Chief Immigration Officer or Higher Executive Officer. The removal of such offenders may only be enforced with the authority of an HM Inspector (immigration inspector) or Senior Executive Officer.

The full range of UKBA warranted grades are

*Assistant Immigration Officer (equivalent to an Administrative Officer)
*Immigration Officer (Executive Officer)
*Chief Immigration Officer (Higher Executive Officer)
*HM Inspector (Senior Executive Officer)
*Assistant Director (Grade 7)
*Deputy Director (Grade 6)

Legislation

The primary piece of UK legislation that sets out the immigration powers of the UK Border Agency is the Immigration Act 1971. Whilst this legislation has been amended several times in recent years by other acts of parliament, it is this legislation which still acts as the major source of immigration law in the United Kingdom. Immigration officers at UK ports and airports are also required to follow the Immigration Rules. These rules, made under section 3(2) of the Immigration Act 1971, constitute statements of practice, as laid before Parliament, to be followed in relation to: regulating the entry into, and stay of persons in, the UK; and removal and deportation from the UK. It is this statutory instrument which sets out the rules, for example, that visitors, students, and those coming to the UK for settlement must meet before they can be granted entry to the UK. The Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006 set out considerably more limited powers for immigration officers dealing with European Union citizens who have a right to free movement within the European Economic Area.

A new Bill is expected in 2008 that will consolidate UK Immigration Legislation since 1971 to simplify the 14 different Acts of Parliament that are currently in force.

Future

In 2007 it was announced that the Border and Immigration Agency would merge with HM Revenue & Customs and UKvisas to create a single Border Force called the UK Border Agency. From 1/4/08 the organisation will once again be re-branded and be known as the UK Borders Agency. A review is ongoing into whether United Kingdom police at ports should be merged into this organisation in the future and it has not been ruled out that physical security at ports, usually operated by the business operating the port, will also be brought into the Border Force in the future. In 2006 the, (then),Border and Immigration Agency facilitated the arrival of nearly 90 million passengers in the UK, more than 12 million of whom were subject to immigration control. Eurostar passengers now pass through UK Immigration control before they embark for the UK, and this has had a significant effect on the arrival of passengers without the correct documents. UKvisas works at British Diplomatic Posts overseas and decide applications from people who need to get permission to enter the UK before they travel. The demand for visas is likely to increase in coming years as will the number of people dealt with by the Border and Immigration Agency at UK ports and airports as passenger numbers increase. This will be particularly felt at London's Heathrow Airport when the new Terminal 5 opens in March 2008, due to the delay in the closure of Terminal 2.

Immigration Officers at Airports and Seaports have been uniformed since 2007 but the uniform is expected to change after the merger with HM Revenue & Customs.

The future of the agencies enforcement arm is very unclear. The creation of the UK Border Agency is expected to allow the contracting of many of its services and steps have been taken towards unifying the pay structures of immigration and customs staff. The distinct enforcement arm of UKBA has been split up into regional structures that combine enforcement and caseworking functions. How this will work in practice is unclear.

External links

* [http://ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ UK Border Agency]
* [http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ UK Visas]