The Home Office and the Secretary of State for the Home Department
Under the IA 1971, the SSHD has overall responsibility for the administration of immigration control. The SSHD normally, unsurprisingly, acts through his/her officials, who make almost all actual decisions (see below). However, there are certain decisions which require the SSHD to act in person (e.g. the exclusion of persons from the UK on the grounds of national security).
UK Visas and Immigration
The UKVI is responsible for managing the UK’s borders and controlling migration by enforcing immigration and customs regulations. It also considers applications for permission to enter or stay in the UK, citizenship and asylum.
UKVI officials make decisions on behalf of the SSHD in respect of people already in the UK, including:
- People who have already entered the UK and have been given leave to enter or remain, and are seeking to extend or change the basis of their stay;
- People who have entered illegally, and wish to seek permission to stay (for example, on asylum grounds);
- People who have overstayed a previous grant of leave, and now wish to regularise their status;
- People who are subject to detention, and people seeking release from detention (this is also dealt with by immigration officers – see below);
- People who are subject to administrative removal from the UK (because they have not been granted leave, or established a right to be in the UK);
- People who are subject to deportation on the basis of criminal behaviour.
The Agency is divided into a number of different departments according to the type of application or status being dealt with. The UKVI has its headquarters in Croydon, and regional offices in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Sheffield, Solihull and Liverpool.
Immigration Officers
Immigration officials (immigration officers and chief immigration officers) are based at ports and other designated offices. They make decisions in respect of entry to the UK, and are concerned with enforcement of immigration control, detention and release. Local enforcement offices and enforcement sections at ports are primarily concerned with enforcement action against those who are treated as illegal entrants, people subject to administrative removal or deportation and asylum claimants who have been refused.
There are also prosecution units at ports and some offices staffed by immigration officers with additional powers and training, and police officers who investigate immigration-related criminal offences. Sections of the immigration service are responsible for intelligence gathering and investigation of ‘organised crime’ connected with migration and there is co-operation between various agencies on these issues.
Entry Clearance Offices at British Embassies and High Commissions overseas
Entry Clearance Officers (‘ECOs’) are officers of the UKVI based in British diplomatic posts – Embassies and High Commissions.
A High Commission is essentially a diplomatic post in a Commonwealth country, while an Embassy is a diplomatic post anywhere else. They serve the same functions. Both are sometimes colloquially referred to as Consulates – though properly speaking, a Consulate is the section of a diplomatic post that is directly concerned with the interests of that country’s own citizens in the host country.
ECOs make decisions as to whether a person is permitted to come to the UK. The UK visa operation has offices in 146 locations throughout the world. The UKVI operates an online application system, with the grotesque soubriquet ‘Visa4UK’.
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
On 15 February 2010, Immigration and Asylum Chambers were established in both tiers of the Unified Tribunals framework created by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The Immigration and Asylum Chambers replace the previously existing Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is an independent Tribunal dealing with appeals against decisions made by the Home Secretary and his /her officials in immigration, asylum and nationality matters.
The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is a superior court of record dealing with appeals against decisions made by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).
From 1 November 2013 most immigration judicial review applications have been dealt with by the Upper Tribunal (they were formerly dealt with by the Administrative Court).
Special Immigration Appeals Commission (‘SIAC’)
SIAC was created by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 to deal with cases in which the SSHD argues issues of national security or other public interest reasons. SIAC deals with appeals against deportation or exclusion on these grounds, as well as decisions to certify persons as international terrorists or decisions to deprive persons of British citizenship status.