Removal and deportation from the UK

You may sometimes read in the media about somebody being “deported” from the UK – ie being expelled from the country. The media does not really get into this subject but there are important differences between being deported from the UK and removed from the UK, and sometimes it is necessary to understand the different legal meanings. 

You might say that removal is generally less serious than deportation but nonetheless it can sometimes have strong and serious consequences. If for example you have become an overstayer or if you are deemed to be in breach of your immigration conditions you may find yourself being removed from the UK – ie being put on an airliner (economy class probably) and sent back to where you came from.

This would be bad enough but you may also face a further punishment/sanction: you may also face a time period ban on returning to the UK. In some cases it might be 12 months but in the most serious cases it could be ten years. 

So removal is not really nice. 

But deportation is likely to be worse. Deportation often happens in the context of a criminal conviction that results in a prison sentence of at least 12 months. If you have one of these the law says that you will be “liable” for deportation when the sentence is finished. Not only this, but the Home Secretary has broad general powers to deport any migrant if they deem that it is “conducive to the public good”, which is of course a very vague and sweeping test. (But it is important to appreciate that a migrant who holds British citizenship cannot be deported.)

You might say that the most important difference between removal and deportation is this: the effect of removal is not permanent – although as we saw sometimes it is long-lasting – whereas the effect of deportation may be. A deported migrant has a Deportation Order against them, and until such time as the Order is revoked (which may be never), they will not be able to return (not legally anyway) to the UK. 

It is also important to know that a migrant’s dependants can also be removed or deported, but this depends on their immigration status. 

You might also like to know whether there is any right of challenge against a removal or deportation decision. Well, there is, although the law is written in rather an obscure way, but it does tell us that a removal or deportation decision can be challenged on human rights grounds, eg on the basis of strong family links or having lived in the UK for many years – or perhaps on the grounds that it would not be safe for the migrant to return to their home country. The law also allows a migrant to challenge a pure “conducive to the public good” deportation decision on grounds other than human rights grounds. 

These cases can potentially end up as appeals before the First-Tier Immigration Tribunal or Judicial Review proceedings before the Upper Immigration Tribunal. 

If you are involved in either removal or deportation matters you are welcome to contact us at GSN Immigration and we will do our best to help you. 

Oliver Westmoreland

Senior Immigration Lawyer