More of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 now in force

Regulations were made just before the Christmas break which brought more of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 into force from 5 January 2026.

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 2 December last year. At commencement, the following were brought into force immediately: all of part 4, sections 40 to 42 (repeal of the Safety of Rwanda Act and some of the Illegal Migration Act), some of sections 43 (relating to the Immigration Advice Authority) and 44 (detention pending a deportation decision) and section 45 (relating to the EU Settlement Scheme).

The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2025 has now brought in the following from 5 January:

(a) sections 1 to 12 (the Border Security Commander);

(b) sections 13 to 16 (offences: things for use in immigration crime), so far as not already in force;

(c) section 20 (offences committed outside the United Kingdom) to the extent that it relates to sections 13 to 16 of the Act;

(d) section 21 (endangering another during sea crossing to the United Kingdom);

(e) sections 22 to 29 (power of search etc. in relation to electronic devices) so far as not already in force;

(f) section 46 (conditions on leave and bail).

Sections 37 (provision of biometric information by evacuees), 38 (use and retention of information taken under section 37) and 47 (power to take biometric information) will come into force two months after Royal Assent, so at the start of next month.

The vast majority of the Act is therefore now in force. A notable omission is the provisions that mandate appeals to be determined within 24 weeks. Presumably because it is an entirely unworkable idea, not least because of the Home Office’s continued insistence on pouring poor quality refusals into the appeals system combined with the failure to fund lawyers to help people through the system.