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Nationality and Borders Act 2022

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (c. 36) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom proposed in July 2021 relating to immigration, asylum and the UK's modern slavery response.[1] The Act also deals with British overseas territories citizenship and registration of stateless citizens. Amongst other elements, it proposes to introduce "designated places" or "offshore" asylum hubs for application of refugee and migrant asylum claims, potentially in another European country or an African country.[2][3][4] Part 5 of the Act grants the Government new powers to limit who is considered a victim of modern slavery, with clauses limiting support in cases where survivors have not complied with State-set deadlines to disclose their abuse.[5] Under Part 5, decision makers would also be asked to consider the survivors' criminal history before deeming them eligible for support.[6]

Nationality and Borders Act 2022
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision about nationality, asylum and immigration; to make provision about victims of slavery or human trafficking; to provide a power for Tribunals to charge participants where their behaviour has wasted the Tribunal’s resources; and for connected purposes.
Citation2022 c. 36
Introduced byPriti Patel (Commons)
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Lords)
Territorial extent 
Dates
Royal assent28 April 2022
Other legislation
Amends
Status: Partly in force
Text of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Bill contents

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The Bill deals with British Overseas Territories Citizenship, citizenship of children of fathers who are not the husband of their mothers, discretionary adult registration routes, naturalisation for Windrush victims, registration of stateless children amongst other things.[7] The proposed bill effectively criminalizes asylum seekers, who come on "unsanctioned" or "irregular" routes to disqualify them from consideration as refugees. It can also remove British citizenship from dual nationals without notice.[8] It suggests an application process for asylum seekers returning to the fast-tracking of claims, which courts have ruled unlawful in the past.[9]

Part 5 of the Bill is concerned with support provision for modern slavery survivors, introducing an obligation for decision makers to take into account a victims' criminal history, and the time it takes them to provide evidence, before the victim is provided with safe housing, counselling, or a caseworker.[10][11]

Electronic Travel Authorisation

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Main article: Electronic Travel Authorisation (United Kingdom)

The bill proposes a system for pre-registration of most non-UK or Irish citizens travelling into the UK, including across the land border in Northern Ireland.[12][13] The scheme started in late 2023 and is intended to be fully in place by the end of 2024.[13]

Background

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In March 2021, the government introduced a "New Plan for Immigration Policy Statement", also known as the New Plan.[14] The consultation closed on 6 May 2021,[7] with charities expressing the concern that this was insufficient time to gather the views of marginalised communities. An open letter by Refugee Action, supported by more than 100 non-profit organisations, argued: "The documents are only available in English and Welsh... Not one question in the official consultation document asks people about their personal experiences of fleeing persecution."[15]

The final Bill text was introduced to the British House of Commons end of June 2021 by Home Secretary Priti Patel.[16] The results of the 'New Plan for Immigration' consultation were not published at this time.[17]

In November 2021, an amendment to the bill was introduced which, if passed, would allow people to be deprived of British citizenship without being given notice. At the time the Home Office stated its position on citizenship: "British citizenship is a privilege, not a right".[18] As of 27 January 2022, it is in committee stage, with four sittings scheduled until February 10, 2022.[19]

Part 5

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Part 5 of the Nationality and Borders Bill is a cluster of proposed exemptions from modern slavery support. The measures have been designed to tackle 'abuse of the system'[20] which has yet to be substantiated with publicly available data.[21]

Exemptions from slavery support

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Under clause 62, a 'public order' exemption will give the Government powers to ban survivors from support if they have a conviction of 12 months or more.[22] Many non-violent crimes carry 12-month convictions, including activity routinely enforced by traffickers (such as marijuana cultivation[23] or petty theft).[24] The support exemption would also apply to children with custodial sentences.[25]

Exemption from support, on the basis of offending, raised concerns due to the overlap between forced criminality and modern slavery.[26] In the UK, a majority of reported survivors (49%) are forced to commit criminal activity as a result of their exploitation.[27]

Under clauses 60–61, guidance would be issued by the Secretary of State to prevent survivors from accessing a second recovery period, which charities such as the Anti Trafficking Labour Exploitation Unit warned could penalise particularly vulnerable victims who are targeted for repeat exploitation: "It is unclear what situation this clause is designed to address".[28]

Trauma deadlines

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Under clauses 57–58, the Secretary of State would be granted powers to issue potential victims with a 'deadline' by which point all evidence in their case must be shared with the relevant authority. Decision makers will be asked to consider compliance with the deadline as part of their decision as to whether or not somebody has been trafficked.[29] The proposal has been condemned by civil society[30][31] and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Dame Sara Thornton,[32] as disadvantaging those whose memory recall is affected by severe trauma. Survivor groups have outlined the role that clauses 57-58 could play in disincentivising survivors from reporting.[33][34]

Downgrading of support

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Under clause 59, the threshold that survivors must meet, in order to access the most urgent forms of support and subsistence, will be raised.[35] Under the current system, survivors have access to support, such as a caseworker or translator, before being subjected to the toughest stage of decision making. In November 2021, more than 110 non-profit organisations condemned the 'tightening up' of support, in a letter to the Home Secretary led by the Human Trafficking Foundation.[36]

Reception

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In June 2021, the charity Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants labelled the proposals as "inhumane and farcical".[37]

In December 2021, the 'Scrap Part 5' campaign was launched by After Exploitation in conjunction with more than 40 non-profit organisations and law firms with specialism in human trafficking.[38] The campaign appeals to Members of Parliament to share concerns with colleagues in the Lords, in order to see Part 5 removed from the Bill at Report stage.[39][40] In February 2022, Lush cosmetics committed to promoting the Scrap Part 5 campaign in each of its UK shopfronts.[41][42][43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nationality and Borders Act 2022". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  2. ^ Davis, Barney (28 June 2021). "Priti Patel plans to 'hold asylum seekers in offshore processing centres' - report". The Evening Standard. p. 1. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  3. ^ "UK seeking offshore asylum centres: Reports". Al-Jazeera. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  4. ^ Stone, Jon (28 June 2021). "Labour to oppose Priti Patel's "'unconscionable' plan to detain refugees offshore". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  5. ^ "UK Nationality and Borders Bill will slash support for modern slavery victims". openDemocracy. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  6. ^ Thornton, Dame Sara. "Fears about bill that would take support away from some modern slavery victims". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  7. ^ a b Free Movement. (29 April 2021). "New Plan for Immigration: the proposed changes to nationality law". Free Movement. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  8. ^ Lothian-McLean, Moya (10 January 2022). "Opinion; Boris Johnson Is Revealing Who He Really Is". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Nationality and Borders Bill: return of the frightmare strategy". Morning Star. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Nationality and Borders Bill Part 5: Modern Slavery, Consideration paper" (PDF). University of Nottingham, Rights Lab. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  11. ^ Esslemont, M. "Nationality and Borders Bill: Impact on Modern Slavery Survivors" (PDF). After Exploitation.
  12. ^ Wilson, Ninian (22 March 2022). "How MPs voted on amendments by Lords to Nationality and Borders Bill". The National.
  13. ^ a b "Nationality and Borders Bill: Electronic Travel Authorisation factsheet". Gov.uk. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022.
  14. ^ "New Plan For Immigration Policy Statement" (PDF). HM Government. March 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Joint open letter in response to New Plan for Immigration consultation". Refugee Action. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  16. ^ "Nationality and Borders Bill". 31 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Whatever happened to the New Plan for Immigration "consultation"?". Free Movement. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  18. ^ Siddique, Haroon (17 November 2021). "New bill quietly gives powers to remove British citizenship without notice". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Nationality and Borders Bill, Stages". 1 February 2022.
  20. ^ "One Pump Court's response to press release by the Home Office and Home Secretary headed 'Alarming rise of abuse within modern slavery system', 21 March 2021 – One Pump Court". Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Submission on the Nationality and Borders Bill". Modern Slavery PEC. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Dame Sara comments on Clause 62 of the Nationality and Borders Bill in The Times". Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Production of a controlled drug/ Cultivation of cannabis plant – Sentencing". Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  24. ^ "New theft offences guideline now available – 06 October 2015 – Sentencing". Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  25. ^ "Child trafficking in the UK 2021: a snapshot". ECPAT UK. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Briefing for House of Lords Second Reading of the Nationality and Borders Bill | Helen Bamber". www.helenbamber.org. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  27. ^ Home Office. "Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify Statistics" (PDF). Gov.uk.
  28. ^ "ATLEU's Briefing for Committee Stage of the Nationality and Borders Bill". ATLEU.
  29. ^ "Nationality and Borders Bill – Briefing and amendment for Clause 57 and 58: Acknowledging disclosure takes time" (PDF). Human Trafficking Foundation.
  30. ^ "News - Anti-slavery sector urges government to make major changes to "dangerous" Nationality and Borders Bill - University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Open Response Question: Chapter 6 - Supporting Victims of Modern Slavery". West Midlands Anti Slavery Network. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Rushed borders bill will fail victims of modern slavery". Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner. 11 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Opinion: I'm a trafficking survivor – and terrifed of new government rules". The Independent. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  34. ^ "'Trauma deadline' in Borders Bill would see survivors of abuse miss out on support". The Big Issue. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  35. ^ Alex; Sinclair, ra; Shakil2022-01-10T13:11:00+00:00, Saba. "Is the Nationality and Borders Bill just another example of bad law-making?". Law Gazette. Retrieved 1 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ "Urgent changes needed to the Nationality and Borders Bill". Human Trafficking Foundation. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022..
  37. ^ JCWI [@JCWI_UK] (28 June 2021). "These plans are inhumane and farcical. Offshore detention centres are places of cruelty and neglect - they should have absolutely NO place in our asylum system. When will Priti Patel stop playing political football with people's lives?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  38. ^ "Joint letter: #ScrapPart5". After Exploitation. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  39. ^ "How Lush Is Taking A Stand Against Modern Slavery". Bustle. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  40. ^ "For survivors of modern day slavery..." We Are Lush. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  41. ^ "How Lush Is Taking A Stand Against Modern Slavery". Bustle. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  42. ^ "For survivors of modern day slavery..." We Are Lush. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  43. ^ "Scrap Part 5: Lush shop front take-over for survivors of modern day slavery". 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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