A
bill
to
Make provision about the removal of certain migrants to the Republic of Rwanda.
B e it enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
The purpose of this Act is to prevent and deter unlawful migration, and in
particular migration by unsafe and illegal routes, by enabling the removal of
persons to the Republic of Rwanda under provision made by or under the
Immigration Acts while maintaining full compliance with domestic and
international law.
To advance that purpose—
the Rwanda Treaty has been laid before Parliament under section 20
of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (treaties to be
laid before Parliament before ratification) with a view to ratification
by the United Kingdom, and
this Act gives effect to the judgement of Parliament that the Republic
of Rwanda will be a safe country when, and so long as, the
arrangements provided for in the Rwanda Treaty have been fully
implemented and are being adhered to in practice.
The Government of the Republic of Rwanda has, in accordance with the
Rwanda Treaty, agreed to fulfil the following obligations—
that any person removed to the Republic of Rwanda under the
provisions of the Treaty (a “relocated individual”) will not be removed
from Rwanda except to the United Kingdom;
that any relocated individual is to be made available for return to the
United Kingdom following a request from the Government of the
United Kingdom;
that the system for the processing of protection claims by relocated
individuals is to be improved;
that relocated individuals are to be treated equally, irrespective of the
status that they are granted in the Republic of Rwanda;
that relocated individuals are to be provided with legal assistance for
the purposes of their protection claims and any appeals relating to
such claims;
It is recognised that—
the Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign, and
the validity of an Act is unaffected by international law.
For the purposes of this Act, a “safe country”—
means a country to which persons may be removed from the United
Kingdom in compliance with all of the United Kingdom’s obligations
under international law that are relevant to the treatment in that
country of persons who are removed there, and
includes, in particular, a country—
from which a person removed to that country will not be
removed or sent to another country in contravention of any
international law, and
in which any person who is seeking asylum or who has had
an asylum determination will both have their claim determined
and be treated in accordance with that country’s obligations
under international law.
For the purposes of this Act, “international law” includes—
the Human Rights Convention,
the Refugee Convention,
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,
the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984,
the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in
Human Beings done at Warsaw on 16 May 2005,
customary international law, and
any other international law, or convention or rule of international law,
whatsoever, including any order, judgment, decision or measure of
the European Court of Human Rights.
The Rwanda Treaty will have been fully implemented for the purposes of
this Act when the Secretary of State has obtained and laid before Parliament
a statement from the independent Monitoring Committee formed under Article
15 that the objectives referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty have been secured
by the creation of the mechanisms listed in that Article.
The Secretary of State must consult the Monitoring Committee every three
months during the period that the Treaty remains in force, and must make
a statement to Parliament at the earliest opportunity in the event that the
advice of the Monitoring Committee is that the provisions of the Treaty are
not being adhered to in practice.
If the advice of the Monitoring Committee is as referred to in subsection
(8)
, the Rwanda Treaty shall cease to be treated as fully implemented for the
purposes of this Act unless and until the Secretary of State has obtained from
the Monitoring Committee, and laid before Parliament, subsequent advice
that the provisions of the Treaty are being adhered to in practice.
Every decision-maker must conclusively treat the Republic of Rwanda as a
safe country unless presented with credible evidence to the contrary.
A decision-maker means—
the Secretary of State or an immigration officer when making a decision
relating to the removal of a person to the Republic of Rwanda under
any provision of, or made under, the Immigration Acts;
a court or tribunal when considering a decision of the Secretary of
State or an immigration officer mentioned in paragraph
(a)
.
The provisions of this Act apply notwithstanding the relevant provisions of
the Human Rights Act 1998, which are disapplied as follows.
The relevant provisions are—
section 2 (interpretation of Convention rights),
section 3 (interpretation of legislation), and
sections 6 to 9 (acts of public authorities).
Section 2 does not apply where a court or tribunal is determining a question
relating to whether the Republic of Rwanda is a safe country for a person to
be removed to under any provision of, or made under, the Immigration Acts.
Section 3 does not apply in relation to this Act.
Sections 6 to 9 do not apply in relation to—
under section 42(2), 44(6)(a) or 45(3) of the Illegal Migration
Act 2023 (serious and irreversible harm) in relation to the
removal of a person under that Act to the Republic of Rwanda,
or
under section 44(6)(a) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, as
applied by section 2AA of the Special Immigration Appeals
Commission Act 1997 (appeals to the Special Immigration
Appeals Commission: serious and irreversible harm), in relation
to the removal of a person under the Illegal Migration Act 2023
to the Republic of Rwanda.
Section 2 does not prevent—
the Secretary of State or an immigration officer from deciding (under
any applicable provision of, or made under, the Immigration Acts)
whether the Republic of Rwanda is a safe country for the person in
question or for a group of persons to which that person belongs,
a court or tribunal considering a review of, or an appeal against, a
relevant decision to the extent that the review or appeal is brought
on the grounds that the Republic of Rwanda is not a safe country for
the person in question or for a group of persons to which that person
belongs, or
a decision-maker considering whether there is a real risk that the
Republic of Rwanda will remove or send the person in question to
another State in contravention of any of its international obligations.
The court or tribunal may grant an interim remedy that prevents or delays,
or that has the effect of preventing or delaying, the removal of the person to
the Republic of Rwanda.
Section 54 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 is disapplied for the purposes of
this Act.
In this section—
“
interim remedy” means any interim remedy or relief however described
(including, in particular, an interim injunction or interdict);
“
relevant decision” means a decision taken by the Secretary of State or
an immigration officer (under any applicable provision of, or made
under, the Immigration Acts) that the Republic of Rwanda is a safe
country for the person in question.
Section 57 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 (decisions relating to a person’s
age) does not apply in relation to removals to the Republic of Rwanda.
This section applies where the European Court of Human Rights indicates
an interim measure in proceedings relating to the intended removal of a
person to the Republic of Rwanda under, or purportedly under, a provision
of, or made under, the Immigration Acts.
It is for a Minister of the Crown (and only a Minister of the Crown) to decide
whether the United Kingdom will comply with the interim measure.
Accordingly, a court or tribunal must not have regard to the interim measure
when considering any application or appeal which relates to a decision to
remove the person to the Republic of Rwanda under a provision of, or made
under, the Immigration Acts.
In this section—
a reference to “the Immigration Acts” does not include the Illegal
Migration Act 2023 (see instead section 55 of that Act);
a reference to a Minister of the Crown is to a Minister of the Crown
acting in person.
Within 60 days of the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State
must lay before Parliament a statement referring to all individuals whose
asylum claims have been deemed inadmissible since the granting of Royal
Assent to the Illegal Migration Act 2023, confirming—
the number of such individuals due to be removed to the Republic of
Rwanda under the Rwanda Treaty,
the timetable for these removals, and
the arrangements in place for any such individuals not due to be
removed to the Republic of Rwanda during the time period set out
in the Rwanda Treaty.
A person with a positive reasonable grounds decision from the National
Referral Mechanism stating that they may be a victim of modern slavery and
human trafficking must not be removed from the United Kingdom on the
basis of the Rwanda Treaty until a conclusive grounds decision has been
made.
A person with a positive conclusive grounds decision from the National
Referral Mechanism that they are a victim of modern slavery and human
trafficking must not be removed from the United Kingdom on the basis of
the Rwanda Treaty without a decision-maker considering whether such
removal would negatively affect the physical health, mental health or safety
of that person, including in particular the risk of re-trafficking.
If the decision-maker makes a finding that any of the factors in subsection
(2)
apply to that person they must not be removed from the United Kingdom
under the Rwanda Treaty without their consent.
Notwithstanding the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Illegal Migration
Act 2023, any earlier Immigration Acts and the other provisions of this Act,
the following categories of person may not be removed to the Republic of
Rwanda—
agents or allies who have supported His Majesty’s armed forces
overseas in an exposed or meaningful manner that now affects their
claim for protection;
persons who have been employed by or indirectly contracted to
provide services to the UK Government in an exposed or meaningful
manner that now affects their claim for protection;
The exemption in
(1)
above includes but is not limited to persons eligible for
entry to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (“ARAP”)
and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (“ACRS”).
In section 61(2) of the UK Borders Act 2007 (meaning of “the Immigration
Acts”)—
omit the “and” at the end of paragraph (m), and
(o)the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act
2024.”
In this Act—
“
Convention rights” means the rights identified as Convention rights by
section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (whether or not in relation to
a State that is a party to the Human Rights Convention);
“
decision” includes a purported decision;
“
the Human Rights Convention” means the Convention for the Protection
of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, agreed by the Council
of Europe at Rome on 4 November 1950, as it has effect for the time
being in relation to the United Kingdom;
“
immigration officer” means a person appointed by the Secretary of State
as an immigration officer under paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the
Immigration Act 1971;
“
the Refugee Convention” means the Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951 and its Protocol;
“
the Rwanda Treaty” means the agreement between the Government of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the
Government of the Republic of Rwanda for the provision of an asylum
partnership to strengthen shared international commitments on the
protection of refugees and migrants, signed at Kigali on 5 December
2023;
In this Act, references to a person do not include a person who is a national
of the Republic of Rwanda or who has obtained a passport or other document
of identity in the Republic of Rwanda.
This Act extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, subject
as follows.
Any amendment made by this Act has the same extent within the United
Kingdom as the provision to which it relates.
His Majesty may by Order in Council provide for any of the provisions of
this Act to extend, with or without modifications, to any of the Channel
Islands or the Isle of Man.
Those provisions are—
section 60(4) of the UK Borders Act 2007, and
section 67(7) of the Illegal Migration Act 2023.
This Act comes into force on the day on which the Rwanda Treaty enters into
force.
This Act applies to any decision by a decision-maker relating to the removal
of a person to the Republic of Rwanda that is made on or after the day on
which the Rwanda Treaty enters into force, irrespective of when the person
arrived in the United Kingdom.
This Act may be cited as the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration)
Act 2024.
A
bill
to
Make provision about the removal of certain migrants to the Republic of Rwanda.
Brought from the Commons on
Ordered to be Printed, .
© Parliamentary copyright House of Commons and House of Lords 2024
This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright
Published by the authority of the House of Lords