UK: Bill aiming to curb illegal immigration to be published

Bill aiming to curb illegal immigration to be published

The Immigration Bill will require banks to check the immigration status of people applying to open accounts, and private landlords to make similar checks on their tenants.

It also aims to streamline the appeals process in immigration cases.

The government has talking about making these changes for awhile. I just wonder how it is going to work - are landlords going to even want to bother with immigration checks? Guess we all will need to wait and see.

I dont know how private landlords are going to willingly participate as they make too much money from renting to illegal immigrants. Slum landlords dont care about being legal or if their tenants are legal, they only care about £££

I would love to see how May and the Tories will make all landlords comply.

I think it talks about penalties. Something like £3K for failure to check or something.

I see agents tacking on an added "background check" fee. 

I see agents tacking on an added "background check" fee. 

Yeah, I can see this too.....   


Also, what about in cases of sub-letting? 

The (some?) hospitals are already doing it. I got put through the wringer by a certain N London hospital when I was sent over by my GP for a chest X-ray (with a prescription to have it done). The 'overseas team' didn't know what a spousal visa was, though, so I guess training on how to actually carry out this bollocks isn't exactly toping the priority list.

I think it talks about penalties. Something like £3K for failure to check or something.

I see agents tacking on an added "background check" fee. 

Most agents - at least here in Sheffield - do backgrounds checks already. A girl I work with was going from a student let to a professional one, and her and her housemate were charged £100 each for them

Most agents - at least here in Sheffield - do backgrounds checks already. A girl I work with was going from a student let to a professional one, and her and her housemate were charged £100 each for them

This is becoming standard in the US as well.  My son recently went through a background check for his new apartment.

The general citizenry in the UK better be paying more attention to this legislation beyond crying out "yay keep 'em out!".  There is no way to implement any of these changes without creating some sort of national identity system.  Unless, of course, questioning someone about their residenty solely because they are accented or have an ethnic appearance is OK by the courts.  :p

Background checks have been standard in the US for years. The 'application fee' or 'administration fee' charged by the management firm usually covers the standard 'credit and criminal' check. All that will be spelled out in the application that a prospective tenant signs.

Applicants for any federally subsidized housing (public housing, HUD Section 8, USDA RD515, USDA RD514, LIHTC etc.) also have to show proof of legal presence in the US.

My husband had to document residence and legal presence in VA when he got a driving license in 2000. To work legally in the US you provide a social security number; for non-citizens, authorization for work is issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

The system doesn't work perfectly as we all know, but you have to start somewhere.

A criminal background check is not the same thing as proof of legal residency.

We could sit here all day long and talk about whether or not asking a person about their legal status in the US is within the bounds of US law.  Whether it be for a job, opening a bank account, or any number of arenas of life.  (There are a variety of federal laws that address this issue, not just one).

The fact remains that the only non-discriminatory way to ask persons about their legal presence is to ask them for documents that ANY legal resident would have.  Not just documents that any legal ALIEN would have. 

FWIW, it's not just any old Social Security card that a US agency will want to see.  It's a non-restricted SS card. 

And since the UK populace is opposed to any sort of national identity scheme - well you can go figure the legal ramifications from there.

I've only been here in Edinburgh for about a month, so I can't say I'm 100% familiar with the 'system' here. But I can't help but be concerned about the ramifications of this bill. Especially the one about landlords doing a check. I fear that letting agencies or private landlords will simply refuse to rent to anyone who sounds foreign, in order to save themselves from a possibility of a fine. I fear this will have major problems for legal immigrants trying to find a place to live.

Been to the hospital with DW today for an appointment and the receptionist on checking her details asked "have you lived outside the UK in the last 12 months" - wonder if this is part of them checking if you are entitled to NHS services?

Been to the hospital with DW today for an appointment and the receptionist on checking her details asked "have you lived outside the UK in the last 12 months" - wonder if this is part of them checking if you are entitled to NHS services?

Yes, I've gotten that a few times on the hospital check-in machine.  I think one asked 6 months (and I could just about cover that).  If you enter that you haven't been here for whatever period, the automated response is to kick you out and tell you to see the receptionist -- who probably doesn't know anything about it.

I had that too (have you lived outside the UK in the last 12 months).  I had just moved here a few months earlier and started filling it out with 'yes' before I thought to ask the receptionist.  Right or wrong, she crossed it out and said 'don't even bother with that... it makes it complicated'.    I can't remember if I told her my visa situation (either Fiance Visa or FLR at that point), but I got my appointment without making it complicated for her.