Immigration Act 2016
Immigration Act 2016
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Overview of the Act
Reproduced verbatim from the Explanatory Notes published with the Act on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Explanatory Notes are prepared by the responsible government department and are not part of the Act.
This Act implements a number of policies outlined in the Conservative Party Manifesto. The Act contains measures to tackle illegal working, enhance the enforcement of labour market rules, deny illegal migrants access to services including housing and banking, provide new powers for immigration officers, as well as other measures to improve the security and operation of the immigration system.
The purpose of the Act is to tackle illegal immigration by making it harder to live and work illegally in the United Kingdom. The intention behind the Act is that without access to work, illegal migrants will depart voluntarily, but where they do not, the Act contains other measures to support enforced removals.
Type: UK Public General Act
Year and chapter: 2016 c. 19
Royal Assent: 2016-05-12
Last ingested: 2026-06-12 from legislation.gov.uk. Acts commence section by section — check the official text for commencement orders.