United Kingdom - November 2025

On 2 December, the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, introducing major changes to immigration detention and asylum processing, received royal assent. The legislation, first introduced in January, extends the powers of immigration authorities to extract data from electronic devices beyond criminal investigations, raising concerns from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, a parliamentary committee, about their potential to lead to searches of vulnerable individuals. The legislation also restricts civil legal aid for those subject to deportation, limiting access to exceptional cases only such as those at risk of refoulement. At the same time, the legislation creates new offenses targeting organised criminal networks involved in migration, and introduces a 28-day time limit on detention, responding to long-standing concerns over legal uncertainty under indefinite detention regimes. The legislation took effect immediately. 

Sources: Government of the United Kingdom (1), Government of the United Kingdom (2), Government of the United Kingdom (3), The Guardian, Reuters, Parliament of the United Kingdom (1), Parliament of the United Kingdom (2)