Home Secretary has this
week signed a new agreement to remove Albanian nationals
who have no right to be in the UK, as part of a 2-day visit
to Tirana.
The signing comes days after the Home Secretary’s plans to
overhaul the immigration system were laid before parliament
in the Nationality and
Borders Bill, which will make the New Plan for
Immigration law.
The new agreement, signed alongside Albanian Minister of
Interior Bledar Cuci, will strengthen the existing
arrangements the UK has to remove Albanian nationals who
have no right to be in the UK. This includes failed asylum
seekers, foreign national offenders (FNOs), and individuals
who have overstayed their visas.
Albanian nationals make up the largest number of foreign
national offenders in UK prisons totalling 16% of the FNO
population.
The Home Secretary has accelerated the removal of foreign
criminals following the easing of coronavirus travel
restrictions, and since April the government has removed
254 Albanian criminals from the UK as well as 85 other
Albanian nationals with no right to be here.
Speaking from Tirana, Home Secretary said:
I am determined to fix our immigration system, clamp down
on illegal entry, and remove those with no right to be in
UK as swiftly as possible.
Our New Plan for Immigration, coupled with this new
agreement, will speed up the removal of Albanian
nationals who have committed crimes in the UK and
overstayed their welcome.
I make no apology for removing dangerous foreign
criminals to protect the British people and, so far this
year, more than 1,000 foreign criminals have been
deported, with more being removed every single week.
The new agreement on removals to Albania will support the
legislative changes the Home Secretary is making as part of
the landmark Nationality and
Borders Bill.
The Bill will expand the Early Removal Scheme making it
easier to remove as many foreign criminals from the UK as
early as possible and maintain the British public’s
confidence in the justice system.
Whilst in Albania, the Home Secretary also met Prime
Minister Edi Rama where she welcomed the continued
cooperation between the UK and Albania in tackling serious
organised crime in the region. They also reaffirmed their
shared commitment to cracking down on Western Balkan based
organised crime groups involved in drugs trafficking,
illicit finance, and organised immigration crime to the UK.
