When and why people are detained
The Home Office can detain someone who has no right to be in the UK, to remove them, or while it establishes their identity or considers their case. Detention happens in immigration removal centres, short-term holding facilities and, sometimes, prisons. It is administrative, not punishment: you are held under immigration powers, not because of a crime, although people who have served a prison sentence are often transferred straight to immigration detention.
Detention must be for a lawful purpose and for no longer than is reasonably necessary for that purpose. It is unlawful to detain someone where there is no realistic prospect of removing them within a reasonable time. There is no fixed time limit, which is why delay and drift matter in these cases.
People who should not normally be detained
The Home Office’s own policy recognises that some people are at greater risk from detention and should be held only in exceptional circumstances, or for the shortest possible time. They include people who have been tortured, victims of trafficking or sexual violence, people with serious mental or physical illness, pregnant women, and people with a learning disability. Medical evidence matters. In detention, a doctor must report to the Home Office where a detainee may have been tortured, or where detention is likely to harm their health (a “Rule 35” report), and that report must be considered in reviewing detention.
Immigration bail
Immigration bail is permission to be released from detention, on conditions. You can apply in two ways: to the Home Office, or to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), which decides on a form and, usually, at a hearing. Our role is to prepare and present the bail application.
| What the application must show | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| An address where you would live | The Tribunal needs to know where you will be, and may require the address to be approved |
| A supporter, sometimes with a financial condition | A person who will attend the hearing, vouch for you and, if the Tribunal requires, offer a sum that would be forfeited if you broke the conditions |
| Why you will comply | Ties to the UK, family, a record of attending, and reasons you have not absconded in the past |
| Why detention is not justified | No realistic prospect of removal, health, vulnerability or the length of detention |
Conditions of bail can include reporting to an immigration office, living at a stated address, a curfew and electronic monitoring. Breaking a condition can lead to re-detention and affect later applications.
The first hours and days
If someone you know has been detained, find out where, and note their Home Office reference number and date of birth. The first days decide how the case proceeds: removal directions may be set, and the time to challenge them is short. Detainees may be entitled to free legal advice through duty advice schemes at detention centres. We can act on bail and on the immigration case, where the person can instruct us.
Unlawful detention
Long detention, detention of someone who cannot be removed within a reasonable time, and detention of vulnerable people can all be unlawful. A person may then be entitled to release and to compensation. Claims of that kind are court proceedings, which we do not conduct. If your case raises one, we will tell you at the outset and you would need a litigation solicitor, and we can work alongside them on the immigration side.
Bail and the rest of the case
Release does not end the case. You still need a route to stay: an asylum claim, further submissions, a human rights application or an appeal. See claiming asylum, further submissions, deportation and removal and immigration appeals.
How we help
We prepare and present bail applications, gather the evidence of address, support and ties, and advise on the underlying immigration case. If you or someone close to you is detained, telephone us as soon as you can.
