The UK government is set to unveil sweeping reforms aimed at speeding up the deportation of foreign nationals who commit crimes, as part of an overhaul of the country's immigration system.
Under current rules, the Home Office is typically alerted only when foreign nationals receive prison sentences, with deportation primarily targeting those jailed for over 12 months. However, the new measures—due to be announced in the Immigration White Paper—will broaden the scope.
Going forward, the Home Office will be notified of all foreign nationals convicted of criminal offences, not just those sentenced to prison. This will allow authorities to take quicker action, particularly against those who have recently arrived in the UK and already committed offences.
The changes aim to prevent escalation by enabling faster removal of individuals involved in serious crimes, such as knife crime, street violence, and offences against women and girls. Those placed on the Sex Offenders Register—regardless of sentence length—will now be classified as serious criminals and barred from seeking asylum in the UK.
Since July 2024, 3,594 foreign criminals have been deported—a 16% increase compared to the same period the year before.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“It is a basic requirement - those who come to the UK should abide by our laws. The system for returning foreign criminals has been far too weak for too long. Already we have increased the number of foreign national offenders being removed since the election. But we need much higher standards. The rules need to be respected and enforced.
We need to restore control so that net migration comes down and proper standards and order are returned”.
The government also plans to update immigration rules so that anyone committing an offence while on a short-term visa will be automatically refused if they reapply. Additional proposals include cancelling visas of those who offend soon after arrival, preventing them from establishing ties in the UK. Photo by Steve Cadman, Wikimedia commons.