COMMENT
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 c.41

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 c.41 (Note)

These notes refer to the Nationality,Immigration and Asylum Act which received Royal Assent on 7 November (c.41)

NATIONALITY, IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM ACT

EXPLANATORY NOTES

INTRODUCTION

1. These explanatory notes relate to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act, which received Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. They have been prepared by the Home Office in order to assist the reader in understanding the Act. They do not form part of the Act and have not been endorsed by Parliament.

2. The notes need to be read in conjunction with the Act. They are not, and are not meant to be, a comprehensive description of the Act. So where a section or part of a section does not seem to require any explanation or comment, none is given.

OVERVIEW

3. The Act is in eight parts:

Part 1 contains provisions which amend British nationality legislation, primarily the British Nationality Act 1981 ("BNA 1981"). It includes provision for citizenship ceremonies and a pledge, and imposes a requirement for naturalisation as a British citizen that the applicant has sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom;

Part 2 contains provisions for the support of asylum-seekers in accommodation centres, built or adapted to accommodate and provide services for a number of asylum-seekers and their dependants on one site;

Part 3 concerns support arrangements for asylum-seekers and other assistance;

Part 4 contains provisions relating to detention, temporary release and removal;

Part 5 contains provisions on immigration and asylum appeals;

Part 6 contains provisions relating to immigration procedures, including charges for work permits, establishment of an Authority-to-carry scheme, and the provision of information and disclosure;

Part 7 introduces new offences and powers of entry to business premises; and

Part 8 contains general provisions.

SUMMARY

Part 1 - Nationality

4. The provisions:

Introduce citizenship ceremonies and a citizenship pledge;

Require those who apply for naturalisation as a British citizen to have sufficient knowledge about life in the United Kingdom; allow for regulations to be made which would specify how this requirement - and the existing requirement in relation to knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic - is to be met; extend the language requirement to those applying for naturalisation as the spouse of a British citizen or a British overseas territories citizen;

Amend the grounds for deprivation of citizenship, and replace the existing procedure for reviewing the deprivation decision with a new right of appeal against deprivation;

Remove existing provisions which allow discrimination on the grounds of nationality or ethnic or national origin in the exercise of nationality functions;

Remove the present distinctions in nationality law between legitimate and illegitimate children;

Repeal both the present statutory exemptions from the duty to give reasons for nationality decisions and the provisions which restrict the court's ability to review certain decisions. Other nationality provisions which are now spent are also repealed;

Remove the minimum age requirement for applications for registration as a British citizen or a British overseas territories citizen by stateless children born in the United Kingdom and the British overseas territories;

Clarify the meaning of the expression "in the United Kingdom in breach of the immigration laws", where it occurs in the BNA 1981;

Enable men as well as women who renounced British nationality before 1983, and who now wish to re-gain it, to rely on a marital connection with the United Kingdom or a British overseas territory;

Enable regulation of the procedure for applying for a certificate of entitlement to the right of abode in the United Kingdom;

Confer an entitlement to registration as a British citizen on certain British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British protected persons; and

Confer a similar entitlement on certain persons who, but for gender discrimination in the law in force before 1 January 1983, would have acquired British citizenship automatically on that date.

Part 2 - Accommodation Centres

5. Part 2 of the Act makes provision for the introduction of accommodation centres, built or adapted to accommodate and provide services for a number of asylum-seekers and their dependants on one site. The centres will be introduced on a trial basis. A proportion of new asylum-seekers who request, and are eligible for, support will be offered places in accommodation centres. Those who refuse the offer of a place, voluntarily cease to reside in a centre or breach their conditions of residence will not qualify for other forms of support. The centres may provide for a number of facilities and services, including:

Food and other essential items;

Money;

Assistance with transport and assistance with expenses to pursue purposeful activities;

Facilities for religious observance;

Healthcare; and

Education and training.

Part 3 - Other Support and Assistance

6. The n...

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