PART 3Enforcement

Powers of immigration officers etc

I151Search for nationality documents by detainee custody officers etc

1

The Secretary of State may direct a detainee custody officer, prison officer or prisoner custody officer to exercise any of the powers in subsection (6) in relation to—

a

a detained person who is detained in a removal centre, prison or young offender institution, or

b

a person who is detained in a short-term holding facility.

2

The Secretary of State may direct a prison officer or prisoner custody officer to exercise any of the powers in subsection (6) in relation to a person detained in a prison or young offender institution—

a

who has been recommended for deportation by a court under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971,

b

in respect of whom the Secretary of State has made a deportation order under section 5(1) of that Act,

c

to whom a notice has been given in accordance with regulations under section 105 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (notice of decision) of a decision to make a deportation order against that person, or

d

in respect of whom the Secretary of State must make, or has made, a deportation order under section 32(5) of the UK Borders Act 2007.

3

In this section and section 52 “relevant officer” means a detainee custody officer, prison officer or prisoner custody officer.

4

The Secretary of State may give a direction in relation to a person detained as mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) only if the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe a relevant nationality document will be found if a power in subsection (6) is exercised in relation to the person.

5

A relevant officer to whom a direction is given under subsection (1) or (2) must (if able to do so) comply with it.

6

The powers referred to in subsections (1), (2) and (4) are—

a

to require the person to hand over to the relevant officer all relevant nationality documents in his or her possession,

b

to search for such documents and to take possession of any that the relevant officer finds,

c

to inspect any relevant nationality documents obtained in the course of the exercise of a power in paragraph (a) or (b), and

d

to seize and retain any such documents so obtained.

7

The power in subsection (6)(b) is a power to search any of the following—

a

the person;

b

anything the person has with him or her;

c

the person's accommodation in the removal centre, short-term holding facility, prison or young offender institution;

d

any item of the person's property in the removal centre, short-term holding facility, prison or young offender institution.

8

A full search may be carried out under subsection (7)(a); but such a search may not be carried out in the presence of—

a

another person detained as mentioned in subsection (1) or (2), or

b

a person of the opposite sex.

9

An intimate search may not be carried out under subsection (7)(a).

10

A relevant officer may if necessary use reasonable force for the purposes of exercising a power in subsection (6)(a) or (b).

11

A relevant officer must pass a relevant nationality document seized and retained under subsection (6)(d) to the Secretary of State as soon as is reasonably practicable.

12

The Secretary of State may retain a relevant nationality document which comes into the Secretary of State's possession under subsection (11) while the Secretary of State suspects that—

a

a person to whom the document relates may be liable to removal from the United Kingdom in accordance with a provision of the Immigration Acts, and

b

retention of the document may facilitate the removal.

13

If subsection (12) does not apply to a document which comes into the Secretary of State's possession under this section, the Secretary of State may—

a

arrange for the document to be returned in accordance with subsection (14), or

b

if the Secretary of State thinks that it would not be appropriate to return the document, dispose of the document in such manner as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate.

14

A document which is required to be returned in accordance with this subsection must be returned to—

a

the person who was previously in possession of it, or

b

if it was not found in the possession of a person, the location in which it was found.

15

In this section and section 52—

  • “full search” means a search which involves the removal of an item of clothing which—

    1. a

      is being worn wholly or partly on the trunk, and

    2. b

      is being so worn either next to the skin or next to an article of underwear;

  • “intimate search” means a search which consists of a physical examination of a person's body orifices other than the mouth;

  • “nationality document” means a document which might—

    1. a

      establish a person's identity, nationality or citizenship, or

    2. b

      indicate the place from which a person has travelled to the United Kingdom or to which a person is proposing to go.

16

For the purposes of this section and section 52 a nationality document is “relevant” if it relates to a person who is liable to removal from the United Kingdom in accordance with a provision of the Immigration Acts.

17

In this section the following expressions have the same meaning as in Part 8 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (see section 147)—

  • “detained person”;

  • “detainee custody officer”;

  • “prisoner custody officer”;

  • “removal centre”;

  • “short-term holding facility”.