Final text of Nationality and Borders Bill agreed

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The Nationality and Borders Bill received Royal Assent and became an Act of Parliament on 28 April 2022.

During its passage through the House of Lords, members successfully asked the government to think again on topics such as:

providing Chagossians and their descendants with a pathway to British nationality
restrictions on the use of age assessments for asylum seekers
support for victims of modern slavery or human trafficking
powers of immigration officers at sea.

What happened during House of Lords scrutiny of the draft law?

The bill was considered by the House of Lords between 5 January and 14 March 2022, before passing back to the House of Commons for consideration of Lords amendments.

Consideration of Commons amendments day three: Wednesday 27 April

Members of the Lords considered Commons reasons for disagreeing to Lords amendments (changes) for a third time.

Lords division

There was one division (vote) on an alternative amendment (5F) to one disagreed to by the Commons. This would insert a new clause that Part 2 of the Bill should be compatible with the Refugee Convention as far as possible.

It also requires courts to make a declaration when it is considering a matter related to Part 2 of the bill and cannot interpret it compatibly with the Refugee Convention.

The amendment was not agreed to, so will not stand as part of the Bill. All other Commons reasons were agreed to without a vote.

Catch up

Consideration of Commons amendments day two: Tuesday 26 April

Members of the Lords considered Commons reasons for disagreeing to Lords amendments (changes) for a second time on subjects including:

compliance with the Refugee Convention
changes to the Immigration Act 1971
removal of asylum seekers to a safe third country while their claim for asylum is pending
entry for asylum seekers in Europe who have a family member in the UK.

There were seven divisions  (votes) on the proposed amendments to the bill.

Refugee convention

The first vote was on amendment 5D, an alternative amendment to insert a new clause that Part 2 of the Bill should be interpreted compatibly with the Refugee Convention as far as possible. It also requires courts to make a declaration when it is considering a matter related to Part 2 of the bill and cannot interpret it compatibly with the Convention.

Members voted 244 in favour and 219 against, so the alternative change was made.

Stopovers and family unity

The second vote was on amendments 6D, 6E and 6F, alternative amendments ensuring a refugee is not regarded as failing to comply with the requirement in subsection (2)(a) if, in coming to the UK, they have stopped in another country with the intention that the stopover was to be a brief transit. Also, that the best interests of children and the fundamental right to family unity is taken into account.

Members voted 227 in favour and 219 against, so the alternative change was made.

Right to work

The third vote was on amendments 7F and 7G, alternative amendments to insert a new clause giving asylum seekers the right to work after six months if a decision has not been taken on the applicant’s asylum application.

Members voted 220 in favour and 219 against, so the alternative change was made.

Additional votes

There were four additional divisions on proposed amendments, but these changes were not made:

Catch up

Read the text of proposed changes (PDF)
Catch up on Parliament TV
Read the Lords Hansard transcript

Consideration of Commons amendments day one: Monday 4 April

Members of the Lords considered Commons reasons for disagreeing to Lords amendments (changes) on subjects including:

British Nationality for Chagos Islanders
compliance with the Refugee Convention
creating powers for the differential treatment of refugees according to the nature of their arrival in the UK
refugee resettlement schemes
granting asylum in cases of genocide.

Government changes agreed following proposals by Lords members

The government proposed changes in response to concerns raised by the Lords at earlier stages, which were agreed to:

providing Chagossians and their descendants with a pathway to British nationality
restrictions to age assessments
ensuring potential victims of modern slavery are proactively identified as early as possible
electronic travel authorisations in Ireland
powers of immigration officers at sea.

Lords divisions

There were 13 divisions (votes) on the proposed amendments to the bill.

Deprivation of citizenship

The first vote was on Lords motion B1, which would remove provisions to retrospectively apply certain deprivation of citizenship orders that were declared invalid.

Members voted 209 in favour of the motion and 165 against, so the change was made.

Asylum

The second vote was on motion C1, which aims to ensure the provisions of Part 2 of the Bill, regarding treatment of refugees and support for asylum seekers, are interpreted compliantly with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

Members voted 189 in favour of the motion and 151 against, so the change was made.

Refugees

The third vote was on motion D1, which would ensure all refugees arriving in the UK receive the same rights under the Refugee Convention and the same ability to maintain family unity.

Members voted 191 in favour of the motion and 148 against, so the change was made.

Permission to work

Vote four was on motion E1, which would enable asylum seekers to be granted permission to work if their claim has not been decided within six months, until the Secretary of State has commissioned and published a review into whether changes to the Immigration Act 1971 have encouraged people applying for asylum to travel to the UK.

Members voted 199 in favour of the motion and 132 against, so the change was made.

Safe third States

The fifth vote was on motion F1, which seeks to set conditions, such as the need to have formal return agreements in place, on when asylum claims by people with a connection to a safe third state can be declared inadmissible.

Members voted 179 in favour of the motion and 152 against, so the change was made.

The sixth vote was on motion G1, which sets conditions on the designation of safe third states that asylum seekers can be removed to, including on the costs of arrangements made with states, and requiring approval of both Houses of Parliament before a country can be designated.

Members voted 176 in favour of the motion and 153 against, so the change was made.

Unaccompanied children

Vote seven was on motion H1, which would ensure unaccompanied children in Europe who have a family member in the UK can enter for the purpose of seeking asylum.

Members voted 181 in favour of the motion and 144 against, so the change was made.

Refugee resettlement schemes

The eighth vote was on motion J1, which aims to require the Secretary of State to publish numerical targets for the resettlement of refugees each year.

Members voted 159 in favour of the motion and 150 against, so the change was made.

Illegal arrival in the UK

The ninth vote was on motion L1, which would remove a provision making it an offence to arrive in the UK without an ETA and add a provision to make it illegal to arrive in the UK in breach of a deportation order.

Members voted 163 in favour of the motion and 138 against, so the change was made.

Assisting unlawful immigration

Vote ten was on motion M1, which aims to make the prosecution of people assisting unlawful immigration or asylum seekers contingent on them acting without reasonable excuse.

Members voted 162 in favour of the motion and 141 against, so the change was made.

Disqualification from protection

The eleventh vote was on motion Q1, which provide a definition of who could be considered a threat to public order and protects victims of slavery against being penalised for having been at some point criminally exploited.

Members voted 116 in favour of the motion and 111 against, so the change was made.

Assistance and support

Vote 12 was on motion R1, which aims to provide 12 months’ statutory support to confirmed victims of slavery of human trafficking in England and Wales.

Members voted 108 in favour of the motion and 107 against, so the change was made.

Victims of slavery of trafficking aged under 18 years

The thirteenth vote was on motion S1, which seeks to ensure that where a competent authority is making a decision in relation to a person who is aged under 18 years, the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration.

Members voted 101 in favour of the motion and 110 against, so the change was not made.

Catch up

Third reading: Monday 14 March

Third reading is the chance for members to ‘tidy up' a bill, making any small changes to ensure it is effective.

Members put forward changes (amendments) to consider at third reading and also discussed the progress of the bill through the House at the conclusion of Lords stages.

Catch up

Report stage day three: Tuesday 8 March

Report stage is an extra chance for members to closely scrutinise elements of the bill and make changes.

Members speaking on day three of report stage put forward amendments (PDF) (changes) to the bill to be discussed on multiple topics including:

tightening initial age assessments to safeguard children
ensuring security and support for victims of trafficking
electronic travel authorisations in Ireland.

Government changes agreed

Members agreed to government amendments to allow visa penalties to be extended to countries that present a risk to international peace and security, or whose actions lead or are likely to lead to armed conflict or a breach of humanitarian law. These changes were brought forward following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Lords divisions

There were ten divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Age assessments

The first vote was on amendment 64A, which ensures that age assessments on young asylum seekers are conducted by a local authority social worker and only taken if there is significant reason to doubt the individual's age.

Members voted 232 in favour and 162 against, so the change was made.

Slavery and trafficking notices

The second vote was on amendment 66, which removes Clause 58 from the bill.

The clause determines that if an individual is late in returning information on being a victim of modern slavery without good reason, then this is considered damaging to the claimant's credibility.

Members voted 213 in favour and 142 against, so the change was made and the clause was removed.

Victim recovery periods

The third vote was on amendment 68A, which replaces Clause 62 of the bill.

Clause 62 disqualifies individuals from the recovery period given to victims of modern slavery on grounds that the individual is a threat to public order or has claimed to be a victim in bad faith.

The new clause ensures that this is done in line with the UK’s obligations under Article 13 of the Trafficking Convention and protects child victims from disqualification.

Members voted 210 in favour and 128 against, so the change was made and the clause was replaced.

Leave to remain

The fourth vote was on amendment 70, which replaces Clause 64 of the bill.

Clause 64 sets out the circumstances in which the government must grant
temporary, limited leave to remain to confirmed victims of modern slavery.

The new clause expands this to create a new statutory support system for victims in England and Wales for at least 12 months, provide temporary leave to remain for all victims and specifies that decisions for children are based on their best interests.

Members voted 207 in favour and 123 against, so the change was made and the clause was replaced.

Child victims

The fifth vote was on amendment 70ZA, which ensures that when a decision is made in relation to a person who is aged under 18 years, the best interests of the child must be the primary consideration.

The amendment also requires the government to grant leave to remain to any confirmed victim of modern slavery who is under 18 years old, or who was under 18 years old at the time of the incidents.

Members voted 194 in favour and 128 against, so the change was made.

Travel to Ireland

The sixth vote was on amendment 71, which ensures persons who are neither British nor Irish would nevertheless be able to make journeys from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland without the need for an Electronic Travel Authorisation.

Members voted 141 in favour and 107 against, so the change was made.

Additional votes

The final four votes were on a range of subjects, including:

These changes were not made following the divisions.

Catch up

Read the text of proposed changes (PDF)
Catch up on Parliament TV (part one and part two)
Read the Lords Hansard transcript

Report stage day two: Wednesday 2 March

Members speaking on day two of report stage put forward amendments (PDF) (changes) to the bill to be discussed on multiple topics including:

removing asylum seekers with pending claims to a safe country
refugee resettlement numbers
asylum in cases of genocide
powers of immigration officers at sea.

Lords divisions

There were eight divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Asylum claims

The first vote was on amendment 31, which removes clause 15 of the bill. Clause 15 created powers to declare an asylum claim inadmissible if it was made by a person with a connection to a safe third country.

Members voted 221 in favour and 172 against, so the change was made.

Powers to remove asylum seekers

The second vote on amendment 35 deletes powers to remove an asylum seeker to a safe country while their claim is pending.

Members voted 208 in favour and 155 against, so the change was made.

Unaccompanied children

Vote three was on amendment 48, which inserts a new clause allowing people, such as unaccompanied children, in Europe who have a close family member in the UK to enter the country to seek asylum.

Members voted 178 in favour and 130 against, so the change was made.

Annual resettlement target

The fourth vote was on amendment 49, which inserts a new clause into the bill requiring the secretary of state to resettle at least 10,000 refugees in the UK each year.

Members voted 169 in favour and 122 against, so the change was made.

Genocide

Vote five was on amendment 51, to insert a new clause into the bill on granting asylum in cases of genocide. The clause states that people deemed by the High Court to be fleeing genocide should be presumed to meet the conditions for asylum in the UK.

Members voted 172 in favour and 120 against, so the change was made.

Valid entry clearance

The sixth vote was on amendment 55, which removes from the bill the creation of a new offence for people arriving in the United Kingdom without valid entry clearance when they require it under immigration rules.

Members voted 101 in favour and 96 against, so the change was made.

Providing assistance

Vote seven was on amendment 59, which removes a change to the Immigration Act 1971, and maintains that an offence of helping an asylum seeker to enter the UK can only be when it is for gain.

Members voted 86 in favour and 84 against, so the change was made.

Endangering life at sea

Vote eight was on amendment 62, which adds a requirement into the bill that powers of immigration officers and enforcement officers can only be used when they do not endanger life at sea.

Members voted 83 in favour and 76 against, so the change was made.

Catch up

Read the text of proposed changes (PDF)
Catch up on Parliament TV (part one and part two)
Read the Lords Hansard transcript (part one and part two).

Report stage day one: Monday 28 February

Members speaking on day one of report stage put forward amendments (PDF) (changes) to the bill to be discussed on multiple topics, including use of accommodation centres for asylum seekers.

Lords divisions

There were  five divisions (votes) on proposed changes to the bill.

Chagos Islanders

The first vote was on amendment 1, which inserts a clause creating provision for Chagos Islanders to acquire British nationality.

Members voted 237 in favour and 154 against, so the change was made.

Revoking British Citizenship without notice

The second vote was on amendment 20, which removes clause 9 from the bill. Clause 9 intended to create powers for people to have their British citizenship revoked without notice.

Members voted 209 in favour and 173 against, so the change was made.

Status of refugees

The third vote was on amendment 24, which aims to ensure all policies or decisions arising from the draft law must comply with the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

Members voted 218 in favour and 140 against, so the change was made.

Differential treatment of refugees

The fourth vote was on amendment 28, which would remove clause 11 from the draft law. Clause 11 intended to create powers for the differential treatment of refugees according to the nature of their arrival in the UK.

Members voted 204 in favour and 126 against, so the change was made.

Employment for asylum seekers

The final vote was on amendment 30, which would enable asylum seekers to take up employment if a decision on their asylum application has not been made within six months.

Members voted 112 in favour and 89 against, so the change was made.

Government changes agreed

Members also agreed to government changes to the British Nationality Act 1981 relating to requirements for citizenship applications.

Catch up

Read the text of proposed changes (PDF)
Catch up on Parliament TV (part one and part two)
Read the Lords Hansard transcript (part one and part two).

Committee stage

Committee stage, the first chance for line by line examination of the bill, tool place over five days between Thursday 27 January and Thursday 10 February 2022.