World Immigration News

Foreign criminals convicted in UK to be deported immediately under new plans

Release Date: 2025-08-09
Media: The Guardian
Summary: The UK government plans to change the law to allow most foreign criminals to be deported immediately after conviction, instead of after serving 30% of their sentence. However, serious offenders with indeterminate sentences, like terrorists and murderers, will continue to serve their full sentences in the UK before deportation is considered. Prison governors can also block deportation if the offender poses a serious national security threat.

Deported offenders will be banned from re-entering the UK, and the new rules will apply to both current and future foreign prisoners to reduce prison costs, as housing one prisoner costs about £54,000 annually. The government had already reduced the deportation threshold from 50% to 30% of the sentence starting in September.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood called this a “radical” move to ensure earlier deportations, emphasizing that those who abuse UK hospitality will be “sent packing.” The UK prison system is near full capacity, and overcrowding has been a serious issue.

Opposition figures criticize the government for not changing human rights laws that they claim hinder deportations and call for tougher measures, including suspending visas and foreign aid for countries that refuse to take back their nationals.
Tags: United Kingdom

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