Legislation.gov.uk publishes 236-page PDF file of the new the Immigration Act 2016
As we reported last week, the Immigration Bill 2015/16 received Royal Assent, becoming the Immigration Act 2016.
Image credit: UK GovernmentThe Act is now available on Legislation.gov.uk here.
At present, the 236-page Act is available in PDF format only.
The Act states its purpose as: "An Act to make provision about the law on immigration and asylum; to make provision about access to services, facilities, licences and work by reference to immigration status; to make provision about the enforcement of certain legislation relating to the labour market; to make provision about language requirements for public sector workers; to make provision about fees for passports and civil registration; and for connected purposes."
The nine parts of the Act as follows:
Part 1: Labour market and illegal working
Part 2: Access to services
Part 3: Enforcement
Part 4: Appeals
Part 5: Support etc for certain categories of migrant
Part 6: Border security
Part 7: Language requirements for public sector workers
Part 8: Fees and charges
Part 9: Miscellaneous and general
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the Act would deter illegal migrants from trying to reach the UK by preventing them from accessing benefits or services.
In a blog post (which we've republished here on EIN) Alina Müller of Migrants' Rights Network says the Act is "another step in the wrong direction not only in terms of securing rights for migrants and fostering social cohesion but also in terms of building a fair and effective immigration system."