immigration checks

[Marco 72]

What are your rights if you are a British/EU citizen and are stopped by UKBA agents for a random check? Can you be detained for not having proof of your status with you?

[PaperPusher]

Where are you talking about? Place of work, train station, airport?

[Marco 72]

Where are you talking about? Place of work, train station, airport?

All of the above. Random immigration checks can be carried out anywhere. I have seen foreign-looking people stopped on the London tube by immigration agents.

[Mr Rusty]

An interesting question.
If an enforcement team is visiting a place of work it is almost certainly because they have information that there are people working there illegally. In those circumstances they would be perfectly justified in arresting anyone who declined to cooperate with their enquiries as they would have "reasonable suspicion" that they had encountered an offender.
At the arrival and embarkation controls at ports of entry, Immigration Officers' powers are considerable and it would be very foolish of anyone to decline to produce id when requested.
I must confess, however, that I was surprised to see some of those 'Border Force' programmes a while ago where enforcement teams in East London were stopping people on the street, or entering and leaving Tube stations. I'm sure they would have had properly written Operational Orders, and an IO is empowered to arrest someone when he has "reasonable grounds" for suspecting that they are an illegal entrant or overstayer, but I am unaware of any power to stop and question someone in the first place. Such ops never took place in the area where I worked, and when I learnt the job it was impressed on us that "fishing expeditions" were a no-no.

[Marco 72]

I'm wondering what my rights are if I get stopped by UKBA agents on my way out of the tube, say. Since I don't carry my passport with me, I have no evidence of my immigration status with me. Could one be detained for that? Also, if they ask to check my fingerprints do I have the right to refuse?

[immigrationuk2009]

Hi

I'm wondering what my rights are if I get stopped by UKBA agents on my way out of the tube, say. Since I don't carry my passport with me, I have no evidence of my immigration status with me. Could one be detained for that? Also, if they ask to check my fingerprints do I have the right to refuse?

Home office can check your status in there system with your name and date of birth..If your check show positive result you would be let to go ..otherwise would be arrested and later deported

UK_Banned_Member

[INSIDER]

Hi

I'm wondering what my rights are if I get stopped by UKBA agents on my way out of the tube, say. Since I don't carry my passport with me, I have no evidence of my immigration status with me. Could one be detained for that? Also, if they ask to check my fingerprints do I have the right to refuse?

Home office can check your status in there system with your name and date of birth..If your check show positive result you would be let to go ..otherwise would be arrested and later deported

UK_Banned_Member

I'm British, I have never left the UK and have no need for a passport.
Please enlighten me as to exactly which Home Office system I will appear on that proves my status.

[Mr Rusty]

Hi

I'm wondering what my rights are if I get stopped by UKBA agents on my way out of the tube, say. Since I don't carry my passport with me, I have no evidence of my immigration status with me. Could one be detained for that? Also, if they ask to check my fingerprints do I have the right to refuse?

Home office can check your status in there system with your name and date of birth..If your check show positive result you would be let to go ..otherwise would be arrested and later deported

UK_Banned_Member

I'm British, I have never left the UK and have no need for a passport.
Please enlighten me as to exactly which Home Office system I will appear on that proves my status.

Immigration Officers have access to the database which carries birth and death records.

Marco raises interesting points because no-one is obliged to carry i/d in the UK, so the only way that someone's bona fides can be tested is by the credibility of their answers if stopped, and confirmation by some database or other. But I'm still not sure what legal power an IO has to stop someone on the street at random.

[INSIDER]

Hi

I'm wondering what my rights are if I get stopped by UKBA agents on my way out of the tube, say. Since I don't carry my passport with me, I have no evidence of my immigration status with me. Could one be detained for that? Also, if they ask to check my fingerprints do I have the right to refuse?

Home office can check your status in there system with your name and date of birth..If your check show positive result you would be let to go ..otherwise would be arrested and later deported

UK_Banned_Member

I'm British, I have never left the UK and have no need for a passport.
Please enlighten me as to exactly which Home Office system I will appear on that proves my status.

Immigration Officers have access to the database which carries birth and death records.

That is wrong, they don't.

[ElenaW]

I can't imagine the embarassment that comes with being randomly checked by UKBA. I've seen a genuine student get checked near the university I attend and felt so bad for the guy. Obviously he wouldn't be carrying his passport with him to uni everyday. I would think a student ID card would suffice.

[Mr Rusty]

Hi




Home office can check your status in there system with your name and date of birth..If your check show positive result you would be let to go ..otherwise would be arrested and later deported

UK_Banned_Member

I'm British, I have never left the UK and have no need for a passport.
Please enlighten me as to exactly which Home Office system I will appear on that proves my status.

Immigration Officers have access to the database which carries birth and death records.

That is wrong, they don't.

I have recently retired as an Immigration Officer. I was able to request a check on any such details whenever I needed to, on submission of my warrant number and the circumstances of the request. The reply was instantaneous.
Your username is misleading if you are not aware of such sources of information. I will not divulge the name of these checks on a public forum.