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Hard-sleeping foreigners face deportation from Britain under draconian immigration laws that will be introduced when the Brexit transition period ends.
Under the immigration rules to be presented to parliament and which come into effect on January 1, sleeping poorly will become grounds for denial or cancellation of permission to be in the UK.
Charities described the move as a “big step backward” that would prevent vulnerable people from asking for help.
Interior Ministry officials are said to be aware of the “sensitivity” of holding poor sleepers responsible for deportation. However, getting people off the streets is said to be a particular focus of Boris Johnson and his ministers.
More than a quarter of those who sleep poorly in the UK are believed to be foreigners. In 2019, official figures showed that 22% were from the EU, while 4% were non-EU citizens. Within London, this increased to 42% and 7% respectively.
The Home Office said the hard sleep rule would be used sparingly, as a last resort, and in circumstances where, for example, people were offered and denied support, such as accommodation, assistance with well-being or return to their country of origin. .
But the policy is expected to create many divisions. In 2017, the Supreme Court declared illegal a policy of the Interior Ministry to deport poor sleepers from countries in the European Economic Area after a challenge filed on behalf of two Poles and a Latvian.
Polly Neate, Shelter CEO, said: “If true, this appears to be a big step back from a government that says it wants to end the hard dream. Seeking to deport people for the sole reason that they are homeless will certainly mean fewer people reaching out for help.
“Rough sleepers, no matter where they are from, are a symptom of a homeownership emergency. This emergency has been caused by the failure of successive governments to build the social housing we need. Investing in social housing will solve this emergency, not punishing people for being homeless ”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow Home Secretary, said: “Deporting people for homelessness is immoral. These plans would be gruesome at any moment, but what makes it even worse is presenting this as we face the deepest recession in generations and amid a global pandemic. It is completely unacceptable and tells you everything you need to know about this morally bankrupt conservative government. “
The rule change is part of a broader review of border policy in which all foreign nationals, including EU citizens, will be subject to significantly stricter criteria for entering the UK.
Under the changes, when freedom of movement with the EU comes to an end in the new year, all foreign criminals sentenced to more than one year in prison will be banned from entering the country.
But important questions remain about how the rules will be effectively enforced if the UK loses access to a wide range of EU-managed security databases, a critical issue raised by former Prime Minister Theresa May, in the Commons this week. .
The current rules mean that officials must, in order to prevent the entry of EU criminals into the UK, demonstrate that these convicts represent a ‘real, present and serious enough threat’ to society. And the decision cannot be based solely on criminal convictions, even if they were for murder or rape, the Interior Ministry said.
Changes to the law, made in the form of a legal instrument, will mean that EU citizens will be subject to the same rules when entering the UK as those that already apply to non-EU citizens.
Those who have been sentenced to less than a year in jail could still be banned because officials can review their criminal records and consider whether they have ties to the UK, such as family members.
Offenders who have not been to prison could also be excluded if there is evidence that they are ‘persistent’ offenders, that their crimes cause ‘serious harm’ or if it is decided that their ‘presence in the UK is not in the public good’ “. ”.
Similarly, anyone with a criminal conviction in the last 12 months who wishes to come to the UK for the first time could be denied entry.
Thomas-Symonds called the announcement “another act of incompetence and fantasy by the Conservatives,” adding: “Nobody wants to see dangerous criminals entering the UK. However, this week we learned that the government has yet to reach an agreement with the EU that will allow us to maintain access to the European arrest warrant and vital information exchange systems such as Europol.
“So when it comes to who comes into the UK, in January we will have no way of knowing who has a criminal record or what crimes they may have committed.”
The Home Office has admitted that anyone who has been expelled from the UK will be able to challenge such a decision under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), raising the possibility of increased challenges in court.
The changes will not apply to EU citizens who have been granted immigration status under the EU settlement scheme, or any other protected by the terms of the withdrawal agreement. But their right to be in the UK could be revoked if they commit crimes after January 1, the Home Office warned.
The immigration rules will also set out other changes previously announced by the government, including measures in the new points-based immigration system, such as salary thresholds, visitor bans and visa rules, which the Home Office said was to “prevent the system is abused ”.
The scheme allowing Afghan interpreters to relocate to the UK has also been expanded, facilitating requests from those interpreters who resigned after serving a minimum of 12 months.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “For too long, EU rules have forced us to allow dangerous foreign criminals, who abuse our values and threaten our way of life, onto our streets. The UK will be safer thanks to stronger and fairer border controls, where foreign criminals, regardless of their nationality, will be subject to the same criminality rules. “
