UK to crack down on illegal immigrants

These measures, which will be effective from February next, will make it easier than ever before for employers to carry out checks and for the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) to deal with non-compliance, it said.

The civil penalties form part of the biggest immigration shake-up for 40 years, sitting alongside a programme of changes that will ensure the system is fit for the future.

“By working together with employers and others we have developed a system that delivers the migrants the UK needs, but which also keeps out those that it does not,” Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said.

As per the new initiative, BIA will also introduce an Australian-style Points Based system to make sure only workers with the skills to benefit Britain’s economy come to the UK.

A single border force bringing together the BIA, Customs and UK Visas providing a tougher, highly visible policing presence at Britain’s ports and airports and Compulsory ID cards for foreign nationals allowing the authorities to know who is here and what they are entitled to are other steps to be initiated as per the measures.

Smith said, “By stamping out illegal working we are making the UK a less attractive destination for illegal migration.”

“The new civil penalties are a more effective way to deal with employers who use exploitative recruitment methods. Together with the introduction of compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals next year, there can be no excuse for not checking the identity of those applying for jobs,” he said.

The Government on Thursday also published a Statement of Intent setting out a new approach for licensing employers or colleges who wish to sponsor migrants for visa applications.

Under the Points Based System employers and colleges will need a license in order to sponsor migrants. To earn and hold a licence they must agree to fulfil certain duties.

The BIA undertakes a regular enforcement operations against illegal working throughout the UK.

Last month 49 people were arrested in a single raid in Chinatown in London, while an operation in Gateshead led to 10 arrests. Another 14 were arrested at a restaurant in Ipswich.

In 2006 alone, BIA carried out over 5,200 illegal working operations and removed more than 22,000 people from the UK.