Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Commonwealth Immigrants Act , 1962
(10 & 11 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 21
An Act to make temporary provision for controlling the immigration into the United Kingdom of Commonwealth citizens; to authorise the deportation from the United Kingdom of certain Commonwealth citizens convicted of offences and recommended by the court for deportation; to amend the qualifications required of Commonwealth citizens applying for citizenship under the British Nationality Act, 1948; to make corresponding provisions in respect of British protected persons and citizens of the Republic of Ireland; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Control of Immigration
1 Application of Part I.
(1) The provisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect for controlling the immigration into the United Kingdom of Commonwealth citizens to whom this section applies.
(2) This section applies to any Commonwealth citizen not being—
(a ) a person born in the United Kingdom;
(b ) a person who holds a United Kingdom passport and is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, or who holds such a passport issued in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland; or
(c ) a person included in the passport of another person who is excepted under paragraph (a ) or paragraph (b ) of this subsection.
(3) In this section ‘passport’ means a current passport; and ‘United Kingdom passport’ means a passport issued to the holder by the Government of the United Kingdom, not being a passport so issued on behalf of the Government of any part of the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom.
(4) This Part of this Act applies to British protected persons and citizens of the Republic of Ireland as it applies to Commonwealth citizens, and references therein to Commonwealth citizens, and to Commonwealth citizens to whom this section applies, shall be construed accordingly.
2 Refusal of admission and conditional admission.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, an immigration officer may, on the examination under this Part of this Act of any Commonwealth citizen to whom section one of this Act applies who enters or seeks to enter the United Kingdom,—
(a ) refuse him admission into the United Kingdom; or
(b ) admit him into the United Kingdom subject to a condition restricting the period for which he may remain there, with or without conditions for restricting his employment or occupation there.
(2) The power to refuse admission or admit subject to conditions under this section shall not be exercised, except as provided by subsection (5), in the case of any person who satisfies an immigration officer that he or she—
(a ) is ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom or was so resident at any time within the past two years; or
(b ) is the wife, or a child under sixteen years of age, of a Commonwealth citizen who is resident in the United Kingdom or of a Commonwealth citizen (not being a person who is on that occasion refused admission into the United Kingdom) with whom she or he enters or seeks to enter the United Kingdom.
(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) of this section, the power to refuse admission under this section shall not be exercised, except as provided by subsections (4) and (5), in the case of a Commonwealth citizen who satisfies an immigration officer either—
(a ) that he wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of employment there, and is the person described in a current voucher issued for the purposes of this section by or on behalf of the Minister of Labour or the Ministry of Labour and National Insurance for Northern Ireland; or
(b ) that he wishes to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of attending a course of study at any university, college, school or other institution in the United Kingdom, being a course which will occupy the whole or a substantial part of his time; or
(c ) that he is in a position to support himself and his dependants, if any, in the United Kingdom otherwise than by taking employment or engaging for reward in any business, profession or other occupation;
and the power to admit subject to conditions under this section shall not be exercised in the case of any person who satisfies such an officer of the matters described in paragraph (a ) of this subsection.
(4) Nothing in subsection (3) of this section shall prevent an immigration officer from refusing admission into the United Kingdom in the case of any Commonwealth citizen to whom section one of this Act applies—
(a ) if it appears to the immigration officer on the advice of a medical inspector or, if no such inspector is available, of any other duly qualified medical practitioner, that he is a person suffering from mental disorder, or that it is otherwise undesirable for medical reasons that he should be admitted; or
(b ) if the immigration officer has reason to believe that he has been convicted in any country of any crime, where-ever committed, which is an extradition crime within the meaning of the Extradition Acts, 1870 to 1935; or
(c ) if his admission would, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, be contrary to the interests of national security.
(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent an immigration officer from refusing admission into the United Kingdom in the case of any person in respect of whom a deportation order under Part II of this Act is in force.
(6) In this section ‘child’ includes a step-child and an adopted child and, in relation to the mother, an illegitimate child; and for the purposes of this section a person shall be deemed not to be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom at any time when a condition restricting the period for which he may remain there is in force under this section, whether that period has expired or not.
3 Supplementary provisions as to control of immigration.
(1) The provisions of Part I of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to—
(a ) the examination of persons landing or seeking to land in the United Kingdom from ships and aircraft;
(b ) the exercise by immigration officers of their powers of refusal of admission or admission subject to conditions under section two of this Act, and the cancellation, variation and duration of such refusals and conditions;
(c ) the removal from the United Kingdom of Commonwealth citizens to whom admission is refused under that section;
(d ) the detention of any such persons or citizens as aforesaid pending further examination or pending removal from the United Kingdom,
and for other purposes supplementary to the foregoing provisions of this Act.
(2) The special provisions contained in Part II of the said First Schedule shall have effect for the purposes of the control under this Part of this Act of immigration by Commonwealth citizens who arrive in the United Kingdom as members of the crews of, or as stowaways in, ships and aircraft.
(3) Part III of the said First Schedule shall have effect for the interpretation of Parts I and II of that Schedule.
(4) Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that the provisions of Part I of the said Schedule relating to persons who land or seek to land in the United Kingdom from ships and aircraft shall extend to persons entering or seeking to enter the United Kingdom by land; and any such Order may make such adaptations or modifications of the said Schedule, and such provisions supplementary thereto, as appear to Her Majesty to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the Order.
(5) No recommendation shall be made to Her Majesty to make an Order in Council under this section unless a draft of the Order has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
4 Offences in connection with control of immigration.
(1) If any person being a Commonwealth citizen to whom section one of this Act applies—
(a ) enters or remains within the United Kingdom, otherwise than in accordance with the directions or under the authority of an immigration officer, while a refusal of admission under section two of this Act is in force in relation to him; or
(b ) contravenes or fails to comply with any condition imposed on him under that section or under Part II of the First Schedule to this Act,
he shall be guilty of an offence; and any offence under this subsection, being an offence committed by entering or remaining in the United Kingdom, shall be deemed to continue throughout any period during which the offender is in the United Kingdom thereafter.
(2) If any person knowingly harbours any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for believing to have committed an offence under subsection (1) of this section, being an offence committed by entering or remaining within the United Kingdom, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) If any person—
(a ) makes or causes to be made to any immigration officer or other person lawfully acting in the execution of this Part of this Act, any return, statement or representation which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true; or
(b ) refuses or fails to produce or furnish to any such officer or person any document or information which he is required to produce or furnish to that officer or person under this Part of this Act, or...
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