UK Borders Act 2007

UK Borders Act 2007[a]
Act of Parliament
coat of arms
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to make provision about immigration and asylum; and for connected purposes.
Citation2007 c. 30
Introduced byJohn Reid MP, Home Secretary (Commons)
Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Minister of State, Home Office (Lords)
Territorial extent 
[b]
Dates
Royal assent30 October 2007
Commencementvarious[c]
Other legislation
Amends
Amended by
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the UK Borders Act 2007 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The UK Borders Act 2007 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom about immigration and asylum.

Provisions

Amongst other things, it introduced compulsory biometric residence permits for non-EU immigrants and introduced greater powers for immigration control.[1][2] It received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007 with sections 17[3] and 59 to 61[4] coming into force on that day.

The act established the UK Border Agency.[5]

Among other provisions, the Act provides immigration officers with several police-like powers, such as detention, entry, search and seizure.[6] It also created The Independent Chief Inspector of the UK Border Agency.

Section 32 of the act places a duty on the Secretary of State to make a deportation order in respect of a foreign criminal. A foreign criminal, as defined by the 2007 Act, is a person who is not a British citizen or Irish citizen, who has been convicted of an offence in the UK and sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months. The duty to deport does not apply if there is an exception under section 33 of the 2007 Act.[7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 61(1).
  2. ↑ Section 60.
  3. ↑ Section 59.

References

  1. ↑ "New borders bill tightens grip on immigration". politics.co.uk. 26 January 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Yesterday in parliament". The Guardian. London. 31 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  3. ↑ The UK Borders Act 2007, section 59(1)
  4. ↑ The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
  5. ↑ Vaughan-Williams, Nick (1 December 2010). "The UK Border Security Continuum: Virtual Biopolitics and the Simulation of the Sovereign Ban". Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 28 (6): 1071–1083. doi:10.1068/d13908. ISSN 0263-7758.
  6. ↑ "A-Z of legislation: UK Borders Act 2007". The Guardian. London. 19 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "Deportation on conducive grounds Immigration Act 1971 and UK Borders Act 2007 (accessible)". GOV.UK. 10 June 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
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