Under tough new proposals unveiled today (October 10) by the Home Office, access to bank accounts for illegal immigrants or those who have overstayed on their visas is to be restricted.
The Government’s Immigration Bill will also require private landlords to confirm the immigration status of their tenants and will ensure that temporary migrants make a contribution to the NHS in a bid to prevent so-called “health tourism”.
Other measures unveiled in the Bill will be new powers to check the immigration status of driving licence applicants and make it easier for the Home Office to recover unpaid civil penalties. Meanwhile, those who try to gain an immigration advantage by entering into a sham marriage or civil partnership will be penalised.
The Bill will also slash the number of grounds on which migrants can lodge an appeal, from the current 17 to just four, a move drawn up in response to the 12 years it took to deport radical cleric Abu Qatada.
Immigration minister Mark Harper said that the Bill will stop migrants using public services to which they are not entitled, reduce the pull factors which encourage people to come to the UK and make it easier to remove people who should not be in the country.
He said that, while the Government will continue to welcome the brightest and best law-abiding migrants who will contribute to the economy and society, the law must be on the side of the people who “play by the rules”, not those who flout it.
However, critics say that implementing the new rules, particularly for landlords, will be difficult and could lead to non-British people finding it much harder to find accommodation, even when they have a legal right to stay in the country.