Politicsuk newsuk businesstheresa may

Banks Now Risk Fines For Letting Illegal Migrants Open Accounts

Now Banks Are Being Told Stop Illegal Immigrants
Asa Bennett
|
Open Image Modal
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: Home Secretary Theresa May arrives in Downing Street on November 4, 2014 in London, England. Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has resigned as a Home Office Minister saying that working in the Home Office was 'Like walking through mud'. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images

Banks and building societies will now risk fines or criminal sanctions if they open current accounts for known illegal immigrants, under new laws that came into force on Friday.

The Home Office's latest attempt to make life in Britain harder for foreigners without visas, comes amid mounting criticism of Tory ministers for failing to meet their pledge to cut net migration.

Official figures recently revealed a surge in net inward migration of 260,000 over the last year, leading critics to say that Prime Minister David Cameron's target of cutting it to below 100,000 was a "total failure".

Ministers are also banning those individuals from obtaining driving licences and introducing landlord checks so they cannot rent private housing, as they fear the illegal migrants would be able to access benefits and services unfairly.

See more...

10 Desperate Ways The Tories Tried To Cut Net Migration
They declared war on human rights (01 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Tories have had the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in their sights for years as they blame its rulings for limiting the UK's ability to kick out illegal immigrants. Ken Clarke and Theresa May got into a spat over whether an illegal immigrant was actually not able to be deported "because he had a pet cat". This led the Home Secretary to conclude that the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the ECHR's principles in UK law, "needs to go".The Tories have more recently unveiled plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and renegotiate the terms of our human rights agreement with Strasbourg. However, lawyers have already found glaring errors, omissions and legal howlers. (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
They live-tweeted deportations (02 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Home Office was accused of sending an ill-judged tweet featuring several illegal immigrants being bundled into the back of a van, warning: "There will be no hiding place for illegal immigrants with the new #ImmigrationBill".Awale Olad, public and parliamentary affairs officer for Migrant Rights told The Huffington Post UK: This is an appalling insight into the attitude of the Home Office towards the complex and sensitive issue of immigration."How can migrants possibly believe that they will be treated fairly and equally under the law when these kinds of threatening positions are adopted by the government." (credit:Twitter)
They sent vans out telling them to go home(03 of10)
Open Image Modal
Theresa May decided not to roll out the Home Office's controversial vans telling illegal immigrants to "go home or face arrest" last October. This may have been after widespread condemnation, resulting in them being dubbed "racist vans". (credit:Matthew Butcher)
They warned that Britain would be 'swamped'(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
Tory defence secretary Michael Fallon raised eyebrows this October after declaring that some areas of Britain felt "under siege" from migrants, and warned that the country could be "swamped".He later said his remarks were "careless", while Ukip's immigration spokesman Steven Woolfe told HuffPostUK that they were "offensive". (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
They tried to crackdown on something with no basis(05 of10)
Open Image Modal
Despite promising to crack down on the seeming scourge of welfare tourists coming to Britain, the government has admitted that it has no evidence to justify that they are a problem. Asked by the European Commission for evidence that some migrants came to Britain just to claim benefits, the Home Office responded: "We consider that these questions place too much emphasis on quantitative evidence." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
They decided to get your doctor involved(06 of10)
Open Image Modal
May's Immigration Bill forces private landlords to quiz tenants about their immigration status and restrict access to bank accounts for people in the country without permission. (credit:Blend Images - JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images)
They tried to out-Ukip Ukip(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
The government's new rules this year mean that all EU migrants will have to wait three months before they can claim jobseeker's allowance and other out-of-work benefits. Labour say they'll go as far as two years, while Ukip say they'll do it for five years. (credit:Carl Court via Getty Images)
They thought of fiddling the figures...(08 of10)
Open Image Modal
Theresa May was accused in March of trying to "make the figures fit the politics" over proposals to cut net migration by nearly 20,000 a year by shortening visas for foreign employees so they can escape being classified as migrants.Given how off-target ministers are, they would have needed more than just this to ensure they met their pledge. (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
They want you to prove your marriage isn't a sham(09 of10)
Open Image Modal
If you want to marry a foreigner, now you'll have to prove to the state that it isn't all a sham. So much for romance. (credit:Marc Debnam via Getty Images)
They even sent Cameron to raid houses(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Prime Minister caused controversy in July for visiting the scene of a dawn raid just hours after immigration officers detained suspected illegal migrants.Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti condemned the visit as "constitutionally inappropriate" and said Cameron's position did not give him the right to enter private property without permission."At the very least, it's bad taste and constitutionally inappropriate for elected politicians to intervene in law enforcement," said Chakrabarti. "Who gave Mr Cameron permission to look round these premises? Being Prime Minister doesn't give you the right to enter private property willy-nilly. Are we going to see politicians electioneering by taking part in immigration searches?" (credit:PA)

Tory Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said that for “too long” it had been “too easy” for people to live in Britain despite having no right to be here.

“These changes, as part of the Immigration Act, will make Britain a less-attractive place for those who come here for the wrong reasons, and allow us to remove more people when they have no right to remain,” he said.

A British Bankers' Association spokesman told the Huffington Post UK: “The BBA and its members have been working actively with the Home office to ensure that the legislation is fully enacted.”

Earlier this week, the Home Office was criticised in a report for granting citizenship to individuals with "very poor immigration histories", including criminal records, as a result of inadequate "good character" checks.

In response to the damning report by the chief inspector of borders and immigration, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Failure to properly check criminal records, to fully understand people’s financial background and take into account their previous immigration status is completely unacceptable.”

Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip