UK immigration authorities and sources of immigration law

This topic looks at the legal framework that underpins UK immigration control and the government department that manages it.

Home Office

The Home Office is responsible for all aspects of control of the UK border and of the entry and stay of foreign nationals who require leave (permission) to enter and remain in the UK.

Any decision to grant or refuse leave to enter, entry clearance or leave to remain is made by the Home Office on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD). The Home Office also considers applications for British citizenship. Passport applications are handled by a separate part of the Home Office, His Majesty's Passport Office.

The immigration control work of the Home Office is split into three areas:

•
UK Border Force—which manages applications for leave to enter at the border and customs functions
•
UK Visas and Immigration—which deals with applications for entry clearance and leave to remain, asylum applications, appeals and sponsor management for the Worker, Temporary Worker and Student immigration routes
•
Immigration Enforcement—which is responsible for investigating immigration offences, detention, administrative removal

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Immigration News

Immigration weekly highlights—21 November 2024

Welcome to the 21 November 2024 highlights from the Immigration team, which provides links to key news stories from the last week, as well as a round-up of new and updated content in Immigration.

ODI publishes research on narrative impacts in Ukraine humanitarian response

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has released a research report examining how narratives have shaped humanitarian responses to Russia's war in Ukraine. The study, analysing actions in Ukraine, Poland, and the UK, highlights tensions between solidarity narratives and traditional humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality. It identifies conflicting portrayals of Ukrainians as both vulnerable aid recipients and resilient resistors, as well as divergent views on localisation success. The report recommends that governments hosting Ukrainians should move towards an offer of long-term status and support for integration of Ukrainians who choose to remain in host countries.

Visa application locations changing from 14 January 2025

The Home Office has updated its guidance on changes to its commercial partner for overseas visa application services. From 14 January 2025, visa application centres outside of the UK will change from TLS contact to VFS Global in some more locations. VFS Global will now operate visa application centres in these locations: Armenia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. Additionally, the Home Office provided location updates effective from 4 December 2024 to now include Germany and Ireland. The guidance and the Find a visa application centre tool have also been updated for countries that have already moved across from TLS Contact to VFS.

Trust for London reveals impact of no recourse to public funds policy on migrants and local authorities

A report funded by Trust for London and conducted by the Centre for Social Policy Studies has highlighted significant issues with the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) policy. The study reveals that NRPF is driving migrants into poverty, with an estimated 208,000 households at risk of destitution nationwide. In London alone, 120,000 households with NRPF are at risk, whilst 36,900 are already in poverty. The policy disproportionately affects women and children, including British citizens, and cost London boroughs nearly £50 million in 2022/23 (in providing support further to their statutory duties to support people in need). The report argues that NFPF is not meeting its policy objectives, and makes a number of recommendations.