UK Borders Act 2007
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Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Minister of State, Home Office (Lords)
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The UK Borders Act 2007[a] (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom about immigration and asylum.
Amongst other things, it introduced compulsory biometric residence permits for non-EU immigrants and introduced greater powers for immigration control.[1][2] It received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007 with sections 17[3] and 59 to 61[4] coming into force on that day.
The act established the UK Border Agency.[5]
Among other provisions, the Act provides immigration officers with several police-like powers, such as detention, entry, search and seizure.[6] It also created The Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency.
Section 32 of the act places a duty on the Secretary of State to make a deportation order in respect of a foreign criminal. A foreign criminal, as defined by the 2007 Act, is a person who is not a British citizen or Irish citizen, who has been convicted of an offence in the UK and sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months. The duty to deport does not apply if there is an exception under section 33 of the 2007 Act.[7]
