What is an administrative removal?
We hear a lot of talk in the newspapers about deportation and deportation orders but in many Immigration cases, the migrant is not being deported. The best London immigration solicitors will tell you that the migrant is going through a process known as “administrative removal”. Some people may think it is a matter of semantics to call forcible removal from the UK an administrative removal as opposed to deportation but top London immigration solicitors say that there are some important differences.
If you are a foreign criminal, you could face a deportation order. In contrast, if you are a migrant who has broken Immigration Rules, for example by over staying after expiry of a visa, you could face removal from the UK by administrative removal.
Some migrants try to avoid administrative removal by living unofficially in the UK. top London immigration solicitors advise that in recent years the Home Office has made it increasingly difficult to live unofficially as a migrant in the UK. For example, if you do not have Immigration status you will:
• Be removed from the UK if the Home Office finds you. Furthermore, if the Home Office believes you have deliberately tried to avoid administrative removal, the Home Office caseworker or tribunal is less likely to grant a bail application from an Immigration detention centre pending a decision being made about your Immigration status;
• Be unable to obtain work that is legal work in the UK. This may lead to your being more vulnerable to an unscrupulous employer;
• Be unable to open a bank account. This could lead to difficulties managing your financial affairs;
• Be unable to rent accommodation. This can lead to your being more vulnerable to unprincipled landlords;
• Find it more difficult to return to the UK If your Immigration records show that you did not co-operate with the Home Office.
For all these reasons, top London immigration solicitors emphasise the importance of early specialist Immigration advice to avoid some of these difficulties.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
If you are at risk of administrative removal or are concerned about detention in a detention centre or are detained and want to apply for bail or to challenge a Home Office decision the specialist Immigration solicitors at London based OTS Solicitors will be happy to talk to you to see how we can help you.
Please call us on 0203 959 9123 to discuss how a member of our specialist team of Immigration solicitors can help you.
Who is subject to administrative removal from the UK?
top London immigration solicitors advise that under the Immigration and Asylum Act a person who requires leave to enter or remain in the UK but does not have the necessary leave is liable to removal. No removal decision is required but the person must receive notification of their liability to removal. If a person has leave to enter or remain in the UK but they breach Immigration conditions then their leave or Immigration status has to be brought to an end to make them removable from the UK.
People who may be subject to administrative removal include:
• People who need leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it, for example over stayers or illegal immigrants;
• People who are in breach of a condition or restriction of their Immigration visa, for example, working in the UK in breach of the conditions imposed on an Immigration visa. In some cases, a warning may be given;
• People who obtain leave or an Immigration visa by deception;
• People who are family members of a person who is subject to administrative removal. To be subject to administrative removal a family member cannot have British Citizenship and must not be able to remain in the UK under any EEA citizen rights. Family includes a spouse, child, adult dependant relative. The administrative removal is subject to the relative only having leave to remain in the UK based on their family life with the migrant and if they do not have leave, they would not qualify to remain in their own right.
What is a Removal, Enforcement and Detention notice?
top London immigration solicitors advise that Removal, Enforcement and Detention notices are called RED notices and are used to tell an individual:
• That they are liable to removal from the UK; and
• The country they will be removed to; and
• Information about the consequences of being in the UK illegally and information about any help available to return home
What is a Section 120 notice?
In addition to a RED notice, a person may receive a section 120 notice. The best London immigration solicitors say that a section 120 notice requires a person to raise with the Home Office, as soon as reasonably practicable, any grounds not previously raised with the Home Office as to why the person should be allowed to remain in the UK.
If a person receives a section 120 notice then top London immigration solicitors recommend that the migrant should make any Human Rights or protection claims. This is because the section 120 notice requires the person to make any further claim now or as soon as reasonably practicable after the notice is received.
What is judicial review?
In some cases of administrative removal, it is possible to apply for a judicial review to challenge the Home Office decision to issue an administrative removal notice.
An individual can therefore ask the high court to review the lawfulness of an administrative removal decision. judicial review can only be used where there is no other avenue of appeal. On an application for judicial review, the court will not normally substitute what it thinks is the right decision. Instead, the court will only decide if the decision made was lawful.
Challenging an administrative removal notice or issuing judicial review proceedings requires specialist legal advice from a top London Immigration solicitor. The best London immigration solicitors recommend that early legal advice should be taken so that you can review your Immigration status options prior to receipt of a RED notice.
How can OTS Solicitors help?
OTS Solicitors are specialist in Immigration law matters and are recommended for Immigration law by the Legal 500. OTS Solicitors have Law Society accredited solicitors’ status as trusted specialists in Immigration law.