Thousands of illegal immigrants win right to stay in Britain under squatters rights

By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent Published: 9:00PM GMT twenty February 2010

A little-known rule, introduced by Labour in 2003, allows bootleg immigrants to explain "indefinite leave to remain" if they conduct to live in Britain"s black economy for prolonged sufficient or are unsuccessful haven seekers who conduct to equivocate deportation.

After fourteen years they can request to the Home Office that considers factors such as "compassionate circumstances, strength of tie to the UK and prior rapist record", prior to determining either an bootleg newcomer will be authorised to stay.

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If successful, the newcomer will afterwards be authorised full entrance to the gratification state and be authorised to request for a British passport.

Since manners altered in Apr 2003, 7,245 illegals have won the right to live here henceforth some-more than 1,000 a year on average. It is approaching that majority paid no income taxation during the fourteen years they outlayed in Britain.

The Home Office estimated in 2005 that the bootleg newcomer race in Britain was in between 310,000 and 570,000 but alternative groups such as Migrationwatch UK, that campaigns opposite mass immigration, have put the figure far higher.

Migrationwatch UK right afar believes the loyal series of bootleg immigrants could be as high as one million.

Damian Green, the shade immigration minister, said: "What disturbs me majority is how majority some-more people will be means to settle this sort of squatters" rights to stay in this country.

"Rewarding bootleg poise is regularly bad, and there ought to be a lot some-more bid put in to interlude people removing to this fourteen year level.

"One of the reasons because we wish to set up a dilettante limit military force is to forestall people being means to stay here for majority years wholly next the radar."

Sir Andrew Green, the authority of Migrationwatch, said: "It is wrong in element that people who have been undercutting British workers for majority years and mostly profitable no taxation should be postulated full entrance to the gratification state.

"This is a prerogative for crime, supposing you get afar with it for prolonged enough."

One immigration law adviser, who declined to be named, said: "I"m astounded this order still survives, to be honest.

"It is an curiosity when compared with the rest of the Government"s process that purports to be removing difficult with immigrants who have strange status."

The manners permitting bootleg immigrants to explain chateau after fourteen years were formalised by the Home Office in 2003 but formerly existed as a lax concession.

The arrangements counterpart the authorised standing of "squatters" rights", rigourously well known as inauspicious possession, in English and Welsh law.

These manners contend that any one who has assigned land or skill for twelve years can request to be purebred as owner.

A Home Office orator said: "Not all applications for unfixed leave to sojourn by the prolonged chateau order will be granted.

"They are counsel on a case-by-case basis, receiving in to comment the strength of tie to the UK, prior rapist jot down and merciful circumstances, and so on."

He combined that it was approaching that the series of people postulated unfixed leave to sojourn underneath the order would tumble as haven claims were dealt with some-more quickly.

Keith Best, an immigration consultant and former authority of the Immigration Advisory Service, said: "This is a essential and stretchable system.

"It takes comment of particular circumstances, quite when somebody might have been an overstayer in this nation and has not regularly committed a counsel action of perplexing to hedge the authorities."

The fourteen years that bootleg immigrants have to wait for for prior to claiming unfixed leave to sojourn in Britain is usually 4 years longer than the duration of time compulsory of official immigrants.

Those who stay here on a visa or who are postulated interloper standing usually have to wait for for 10 years prior to requesting for the same concession, if they have been invariably proprietor in Britain.