Under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the maximum prison sentence for illegal entry into the UK and for overstaying a visa is four years on indictment. Over 1,000 people have been convicted of illegal arrival since 2022, with typical sentences of 8-12 months. Prosecutions for simple overstaying remain rare unless combined with other factors such as illegal working.
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2 Opinions
No. Fourteen months served in full, then the plane. If the home country refuses, they stay up to five years while a third country is found. They do not dissolve into a hotel. Raising the four-year maximum is theatre if courts still give months. Give the state a removal clock that does not run out in the street. The sentence is the wait for the aircraft.
Honestly, no point. Do we ever instigate this rule anyway?