The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 is in force – what has changed?

The latest of the – apparently now annual – immigration and asylum Bills has completed its journey through parliament, as the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent yesterday. You should read Colin’s write up of the Bill as first published here for an overview of the whole Act as well as my post on the government’s later amendments.

Below I have set out what has and has not been changed with the Illegal Migration Act 2023 in a bit more detail. It is of course particularly instructive to look at what the government has decided to keep.

Mandatory inadmissibility and duty to remove are gone

The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 has been repealed, along with the many provisions of the Illegal Migration Act that were brought in to facilitate removals to Rwanda, such as mandatory inadmissibility and the duty to remove.

This means that the mandatory duty to remove every person who met the relevant criteria, including arrival in the UK without permission and without making a direct journey to the UK will be removed from primary legislation. However, it does not mean that the inadmissibility process will no longer be used, as we have seen that this is how people who arrive in the UK by Channel crossing are being sent to France under the new UK-France treaty.

Ban on grants of leave and citizenship partly lifted

The provisions that prevented people who had entered the UK without permission from ever being granted leave have been repealed, as have the sections preventing this group of people from becoming British citizens. The latter change is of course somewhat disingenuous given the prohibition on people who have entered without permission, including refugees, was moved into guidance instead earlier this year.

Expanded detention powers retained

The expanded detention powers at section 12 of the Illegal Migration Act which are in force are to be retained. I think this is still the only reported case we have looking at the use of these detention powers.

Search, seizure and retention of electronic devices retained

Also repealed are Section 15 and Schedule 2 which set out the powers to search people detained pending removal under the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and to seize and access electronic information. However, elsewhere the new Borders Act introduces more extensive powers of search, seize and retain relating to electronic devices.

The new provisions are at sections 22 to 29 which largely replicate the wording of the repealed sections, but extend their application beyond people who were liable to detention because the duty to remove applied (as was the case under the repealed Illegal Migration Act provisions). Now the provisions will apply to a much wider group of people, including those who arrive in the UK without leave to enter or entry clearance or without a valid electronic travel authorisation where one is required.

These changes are presumably brought in to address the 2022 case where the Home Office was found to have been unlawfully operating a secret policy of mobile phone seizures. Concerns have already been raised about the prospect of children having their mouths searched for sim cards.

Section 62 of the Illegal Migration Act is also being kept, this amends section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. It provides for damage to a person’s credibility where an electronic device has been found on them, or appears to have been in their possession and they do not provide access (i.e. log in details) when asked to do so by an immigration officer.

Modern slavery powers not yet in force are retained

The provisions of the Illegal Migration Act that relate to survivors of modern slavery have been repealed where the duty to remove would remove would apply, however section 29 of the Act is being retained. This section is not currently in force but it provides for an amendment to be made to section 63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

The amendment would make mandatory the disqualification of survivors from protections where they are deemed to be a threat to public order or have claimed to be a victim of trafficking “in bad faith”, unless there are “compelling circumstances”. The disqualification at section 63 is currently discretionary.

Potential inadmissibility of asylum and human rights claims by nationals of “safe countries”

Section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has also been retained. This section would amend part 4A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 to add a list of countries (at section 80AA) whose nationals will have their asylum claims deemed inadmissible and extend the deemed inadmissibility to their human rights claims (by amending section 80A). Part 4A initially related to the inadmissibility of asylum claims from EU nationals only, however the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 extended these provisions to people with a ‘connection’ to a ‘safe third country’.

This is currently in force only for the purpose of making regulations and regulations were made to add India and Georgia to this list (despite concerns raised) in 2023, the regulations were approved by parliament in April 2024.

Conclusion

It appears that the conveyor belt of primary legislation in this area is likely to continue next year. Let’s at least hope for a snappier title next time.