Illegal Migration Act - Everything you need to know

The Refugee Ban Act – officially known as the ‘Illegal Migration Act’ – was the Government’s latest inhumane and cruel attempt to strip away the basic rights of torture survivors and refugees.

In January 2025, the Labour government introduced the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill which scrapped some parts of the Illegal Migration Act, and introduced other worrying rules in their place. 

What is the Illegal Migration Act UK?

The Refugee Ban Act, also known as the Illegal Migration Act, was announced by the Government on 7 March 2023, before becoming an Act on 20 July 2023. It targets the rights of refugees and torture survivors by effectively banning the right to seek asylum in the UK.

The purpose of the Illegal Migration Act was to deter refugees from seeking safety in the UK. It did this by punishing people who take ‘irregular’ journeys to the UK, such as arriving via small boat, stowing away in a lorry, or flying into the UK without a legitimate visa. It also placed a duty on the Home Secretary to oversee the removal of anyone who enters the UK outside of normal immigration laws or has travelled through a ‘safe third country’ – even if they’re fleeing persecution or torture.

Most people seeking asylum have little choice but to take dangerous journeys and don’t have the option to use the Government’s so-called ‘safe and legal routes’. Internationally, fewer than 1% of the world’s refugees can access resettlement schemes run by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). No refugee visa exists for people who need to quickly leave their country and airlines get fined if they allow refugees to travel to the UK without valid visas.

Historically, when a country becomes unsafe and begins to produce refugees, the UK starts denying visas to its nationals. This prevents them from travelling safely to the UK to claim asylum – as seen at the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2015.

Much of the Illegal Migration Act not only contradicted the UK’s commitments to international law, but it also eroded the UK’s reputation as a leader in refugee protection. It has been described by the Archbishop of Canterbury as ‘morally unacceptable and politically impractical’.

At Freedom from Torture we call it the ‘Refugee Ban Act’ instead of the Illegal Migration Act simply because it was a piece of anti-refugee legislation. It effectively extinguished the UK’s asylum system. It is unfair, inhumane and unlawful.

What was wrong with the Illegal Migration Act?

The Act wouldn’t stop small boats

The Government promoted the Illegal Migration Act with its ‘Stop the Boats’ slogan – but in reality, it targeted a much wider group of people than just those crossing the Channel. In 2022, less than half of asylum applications in the UK were made by people arriving on small boats. The UK’s Illegal Migration Act was nothing short of a disguise to shun the Government’s responsibility for providing protection to refugees.

There’s also no shortage of evidence that shows past attempts to deter refugees simply don’t work. The Government’s own statistics show that recent changes to the law – like the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 – have not reduced the number of people arriving in the UK.

Our research on why torture survivors seek protection in the UK explores some of the reasons that survivors flee their country of origin and arrive in the UK. Overwhelmingly, our research showed us that people have good reasons for seeking safety in the UK rather than another country. This could be because they have a family member or friends in the UK, they speak English, or they perceive the UK to be a country that respects human rights. Our report also shows that the Government’s deterrent approach will ultimately fail because it doesn’t acknowledge the factors that push refugees to seek safety in the UK.

Refugees could be indefinitely detained

The Illegal Migration Act introduced new powers for the automatic and indefinite detention of anyone who is deemed to have entered the UK illegally. The Home Secretary’s power to detain applies to everyone who is subject to removal, even children, families and pregnant women.

The period of detention allowed is any length that is judged to be ‘reasonably necessary’ by the Home Secretary – there is no indication given in the Act of how long this should be or what criteria will be used.

From our work with torture survivors, we know that many survivors are particularly vulnerable to harm in detention. Many survivors experience re-traumatisation, whether that’s recall of torture experiences or deterioration of existing trauma symptoms.

The Act is not compatible with international law

Even though the UK is no longer part of the European Union, it still has obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as other international treaties like the UN Refugee Convention. In fact, the UK played a crucial role in drafting both the ECHR and the Refugee Convention in the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust.

The Refugee Ban Act put in turmoil many of the UK’s obligations under international law – like the commitment to not return individuals to a country where they might be subjected to persecution (the principle of non-refoulement).

Many voices like the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) expressed serious concern that the Act would not only undermine the UK’s humanitarian traditions but it would also breach its obligations under international law. This is important because if the UK backslides on its commitments to refugees there is nothing stopping other countries taking a similar approach.

There are fears that the UK could start a chain reaction that sees other countries refusing to make decisions on refugees’ protection claims because of how they arrived, making it even harder for people to leave a situation of danger and find safety in another country.

The Act fails without the Rwanda scheme

The Refugee Ban Act, or Illegal Migration Act, was highly reliant on the Government’s ability to make removal arrangements with a ‘safe third country’ like Rwanda. But in June 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled that Rwanda is not a safe country for refugees to be sent to – meaning that the Government’s ‘cash for humans’ scheme is deemed unlawful.

People from countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran – who make up a huge number of ‘irregular’ arrivals to the UK – will not be automatically removed back to their country of origin under this Act. This is because the UK recognises that people from these countries have high refugee grant rates, meaning it would be unsafe for these people to be returned to their country of nationality. However, the Illegal Migration Act also refused these refugees permission to remain in the UK and secure a legal status.

For now, the Government has no deals with other countries where refugees would be processed. This means a large number of people will be subject to indefinite detention while the UK tries to remove them to another country. If this isn’t practically possible, we anticipate people will be released from detention but left in legal limbo, with the UK refusing to make a decision on their asylum claim. This population will be incredibly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, with no ability to rebuild their life in the UK.

FAQ: How does the Illegal Migration Act impact asylum seekers and refugees in the UK?

The Illegal Migration Act has a very negative impact on asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, because it prevents most people who arrive in the UK through irregular routes from claiming asylum – despite the lack of safe alternatives. It can mean people seeking safety end up in indefinite detention, which can be extremely damaging to the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees who have survived torture. It also leaves many more in legal limbo without access to their human rights, or the security and stability they need to recover. 
 

FAQ: How does the Illegal Migration Act relate to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill?

The new Border Security and Immigration Bill, introduced in January 2025, effectively aims to replace the Illegal Migration Act 2023. It repeals a lot of the restrictions the Illegal Migration Act brought in, like the Rwanda scheme, but it also keeps a lot of the same rules and adds new powers to prevent refugees from seeking asylum with a focus on strengthening border security while targeting small boat crossings. 

Banner image credit: Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images