Anyone caught piloting a boat carrying migrants in the Channel could face life behind bars from today, as part of the biggest overhaul of the asylum system in decades
A range of measures in the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA) are now in force, giving the Government new powers to tackle criminality, secure our borders and deter people from making these dangerous journeys.
The Nationality and Borders Act, which received Royal Assent in April, will radically reform our broken system to better support those in genuine need of asylum through safe and legal routes and break the business model of trafficking networks.
From today, a raft of measures will take effect, including:
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
In addition, the Nationality and Borders Act will fix anomalies in UK nationality laws which have denied British nationality to some children of British Overseas Territory citizens.
For instance, before 1 January 1983 women with British Overseas Territory citizenship could not pass on British nationality to children born outside the UK and its territories. Similarly, before 1 July 2006 children born to unmarried British Overseas Territory fathers could not acquire British nationality through their father.
Today, the Home Office is also launching citizenship routes for all those denied citizenship by these anomalies.
The Nationality and Borders Act will scrap outdated rules requiring children born outside an Overseas Territory to British Overseas Territory citizen parents to be registered within 12 months of their birth in order to qualify for citizenship.
Other measures in the act which became law in April, will be implemented over the coming months and into next year.