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Fine for stowaways doubled to 14,000
Page 8
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by Miles Brignall
The controversial £4,000 maximum fine for bringing illegal immigrants into the UK came into force on Sunday (8 December). The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 imposes maximum fines of £2,000-a-head on the driver and the operator of any truck found with stowaways.
However, the new system is said to be more flexible, with a sliding scale of fines reflecting the degree of care that hauliers, drivers and other carriers have taken to prevent illegal immigrants from hiding in their transporters".
Operators and drivers who can prove they checked their vehicles in line with the Home Office code of practice should escape prosecution altogether.
Factors which will be considered when deciding the level of the penalty will include whether:
• The owner or hirer made sure adequate security devices were available and that the vehicle was well-maintained; • The driver carried out checks before leaving for the UK; • The driver and owner/hirer have a good record.
• The driver cooperated in bringing clandestine entrants to the notice of the UK authorities. The new regime also introduces a statutory right of appeal against the imposition and size of any penalty. Operators can appeal to the Immigration Board's own appeals service or can go straight to a County Court to appeal against the imposition or the size of the fine.
The Home Office's Code of Practice can be accessed by clicking on 'Immigration and Nationality" on the home page (www.homeoffice.gov.uk). clicking on "Tourism/Carriers", and then on "Civic Penalty".