Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Immigration officers definition

What does Immigration officers mean? Immigration officers are officials who control entry and enforce immigration law at ports, airports and inland. In the UK, they are appointed by the Secretary of State under the Immigration Act 1971, Sch 2, para 1, to administer immigration control. The 1971 Act (especially Sch 2), supplemented by later legislation, defines powers to examine arrivals, grant or refuse leave to enter, detain pending examination or removal, and to search, arrest and serve notices in connection with immigration offences. Their functions apply across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on a common statutory basis, although the use of coercive powers...

UK immigration officers’ powers: examination, detention, entry, search and seizure (including electronic devices) under IA 1971, IA 2014 and 2016, UKBA 2007, PACE Order 2013 and BSAIA 2025

Published by a LexisNexis Immigration expert

Practice notes

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The Border, Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (BSAIA 2025) received royal assent on 2 December 2025. The Act introduces a fresh authority permitting searches of electronic devices belonging to any person who has come to or arrived in the UK without leave to enter or remain. For further information and context, see News Analysis: What is changing under the Border, Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025. This new power took effect on 5 January 2026; refer to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (Commencement No 1) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1318). This Practice Note is currently being revised to reflect this development. Immigration officers hold various statutory powers enabling entry to premises to look for individuals and material and, upon entry, to arrest individuals and seize evidence. The scope of these powers expanded markedly when the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Application to immigration officers and designated customs officials in England and Wales) Order 2013, SI 2013/1542, came into force, and expanded again particularly with the enactment of the Immigration Act 2014 (IA 2014) and the Immigration Act 2016 (IA 2016)...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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