foreign national offenders
(FNOs) Under the UK Borders Act 2007 foreign national offenders who have been sentenced to a period of imprisonment of 12 months or longer are subject to automatic deportation from the UK at the end of their sentence. In such cases the Home Secretary is legally obliged to make a deportation order unless the FNO falls within one of a small number of exceptions. The most important of these are: (i) where deportation would breach the subject’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or the UK’s obligations under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees; (ii) where the subject was under the age of 18 at the time of conviction; and (iii) where the subject is being held under the Mental Health Act 1983. With the UK’s departure from the EU, the distinction made in the 2007 Act between nationals of the European Economic Area (EEA) and other foreign national offenders no longer applies, except in some cases where the offence was committed before the commencement of the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum (EU Exit) Regulations SI 2019 No. 745. Foreign national offenders who are sentenced to less than 12 months’ imprisonment may also be deported on the recommendation of the court. |