Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the introduction of the Illegal Migration Bill, what plans they have (1) to ban migrants who arrive in the UK via irregular transit routes from re-entering the UK in future, and (2) to prevent them from applying for British citizenship for life; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of any such plans, given that lifetime bans could be reversed by future governments.

The Illegal Migration Bill makes it clear to migrants thinking of coming to the UK illegally – be that by a small boat, in the back of a lorry or other unlawful means - that illegal entry has real, long-term and significant impacts on their future.

Migrants who enter the UK illegally will be banned from returning at a future date and will not be able to obtain settlement or citizenship.

The very limited power to waive the re-entry ban is included for use in specific exceptional circumstances. The overall approach is clear: if someone wants to come to the UK, they must do so lawfully.

The re-entry, settlement and citizenship bans will be rooted in primary legislation as part of the Illegal Migration Bill and will be subject to the usual parliamentary processes