Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Long titleAn Act to make provision about immigration and asylum; to make provision about procedures in connection with marriage on superintendent registrar’s certificate; and for connected purposes.
Citation1999 c 33
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent11 November 1999
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c 33) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It followed a 1998 government white paper entitled "Fairer, Faster And Firmer – A Modern Approach To Immigration And Asylum".[1] Its main aim was to create a faster system to deal with a backlog of cases.[2]

One of the most notable parts of the new law was to introduce the dispersal policy under section 95 of the Act. This system allowed for the creation of dispersal areas around the United Kingdom, where asylum applicants would be accommodated while their claims for asylum were reviewed.[3] The Act provided for two types of accommodation, "initial accommodation", which was generally available for up to two weeks, and "dispersal" accommodation, which could be occupied for longer periods.[4]

  1. ^ "Fairer, Faster And Firmer – A Modern Approach To Immigration And Asylum". Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Immigration and Asylum Act 1999". The Guardian. London. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  3. ^ Politowski, Ben; Terry, McGuinness (29 April 2016). "Policy on the dispersal of asylum seekers". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  4. ^ Metropolitan Resources North West Ltd v Secretary of State for Home Department (on behalf of the UK Border Agency), VLEX, paragraph 1, delivered 1 April 2011, accessed 9 October 2023