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| Effect of detention. |
23. - (1) This section applies if a transporter is detained under section 22.
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(2) The person to whom the penalty notice was addressed, or the owner or any other person claiming an interest in the transporter, may apply to the court for the transporter to be released.
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(3) The court may release the transporter if it considers that-
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(a) satisfactory security has been tendered in place of the transporter for the payment of the penalty alleged to be due and connected expenses; or |
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(b) there is a significant doubt as to whether the penalty is payable and the applicant has a compelling need to have the transporter released. |
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(4) If the court has not ordered the release of the transporter, the Secretary of State may sell it if the penalty in question and connected expenses are not paid before the end of the period of 56 days beginning with the date on which the detention began.
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(5) "Connected expenses" means expenses reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in connection with the detention.
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(6) Schedule 1 applies to the detention and sale of transporters under this section.
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| Assisting illegal entry and harbouring. |
24. - (1) In section 25 of the 1971 Act (assisting illegal entry and harbouring), at the end of paragraph (c) of subsection (6), insert-
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(d) the driver of any such vehicle". |
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(2) After section 25, insert-
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| "Detention of ships, aircraft and vehicles in connection with offences under section 25(1). |
25A. - (1) If a person has been arrested for an offence under section 25(1)(a) or (b), a senior officer or a constable may detain a relevant ship, aircraft or vehicle-
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(a) until a decision is taken as to whether or not to charge the arrested person with that offence; or |
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(b) if the arrested person has been charged- |
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(i) until he is acquitted; or
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(ii) if he has been convicted, until the court decides whether or not to order forfeiture of the ship, aircraft or vehicle.
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(2) A ship, aircraft or vehicle is a relevant ship, aircraft or vehicle, in relation to an arrested person, if it is one which the officer or constable concerned has reasonable grounds for believing could, on conviction of the arrested person for the offence for which he was arrested, be the subject of an order for forfeiture made under section 25(6).
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(3) A person (other than the arrested person) who claims to be the owner of a ship, aircraft or vehicle which has been detained under this section may apply to the court for its release.
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(4) The court to which an application is made under subsection (3) may, on such security or surety being tendered as it considers satisfactory, release the ship, aircraft or vehicle on condition that it is made available to the court if-
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(a) the arrested person is convicted; and |
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(b) an order for its forfeiture is made under section 25(6). |
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(5) "Court" means-
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(a) in England and Wales, a magistrates' court or the Crown Court; |
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(b) in Scotland, the sheriff; and |
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(c) in Northern Ireland, a court of summary jurisdiction. |
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(6) "Owner" has the same meaning as it has in section 25(6).
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(7) "Senior officer" means an immigration officer not below the rank of chief immigration officer."
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(3) Subsection (1) has effect in relation to offences committed after the coming into force of that subsection.
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(4) Subsection (2) has effect in relation to persons arrested for offences alleged to have been committed after the coming into force of that subsection.
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Passengers without proper documents |
| Charges in respect of passengers without proper documents. |
25. - (1) This section applies if a person requiring leave to enter the United Kingdom arrives in the United Kingdom by ship, aircraft, road passenger vehicle or train and, on being required to do so by an immigration officer, fails to produce-
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(a) a valid passport with photograph or some other document satisfactorily establishing his identity and nationality or citizenship; and |
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(b) if he requires a visa, a valid visa of the required kind. |
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(2) The Secretary of State may charge the owner of the ship, aircraft or vehicle or the train operator, in respect of that person, the sum of £2,000 or such other sum as may be prescribed.
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(3) The charge is payable to the Secretary of State on demand.
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(4) No charge is payable in respect of any person who is shown by the owner or train operator to have produced the required document or documents to him or his representative when embarking-
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(a) on the ship or aircraft for the voyage or flight to the United Kingdom; or |
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(b) on the vehicle or train for the journey to the United Kingdom. |
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(5) For the purposes of this section, a document is to be regarded as being what it purports to be unless its falsity is reasonably apparent.
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(6) Subsection (7) applies if-
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(a) a person arrives in the United Kingdom in circumstances in which the Secretary of State is entitled to impose on the owner of a road passenger vehicle a charge under this section in respect of that person; and |
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(b) the vehicle arrived in the United Kingdom in a ship or aircraft. |
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(7) The Secretary of State may impose a charge in respect of the arrival of the vehicle, or a charge in respect of the arrival of the ship or aircraft, but not in respect of both.
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(8) "Road passenger vehicle" means a vehicle-
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(a) which is adapted to carry more than eight passengers and is being used for carrying passengers for hire or reward; or |
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(b) which is not so adapted but is being used for carrying passengers for hire or reward at separate fares in the course of a business of carrying passengers. |
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(9) For the purposes of this section a person requires a visa if-
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(a) under the immigration rules he requires a visa for entry into the United Kingdom; or |
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(b) as a result of section 26 he requires a visa for passing through the United Kingdom. |
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(10) "Representative", in relation to a person, means an employee or agent of his.
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| Visas for transit passengers. |
26. - (1) The Secretary of State may by order require transit passengers to hold a transit visa.
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(2) "Transit passengers" means persons of any description specified in the order who on arrival in the United Kingdom pass through to another country or territory without entering the United Kingdom; and "transit visa" means a visa for that purpose.
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(3) The order-
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(a) may specify a description of persons by reference to nationality, citizenship, origin or other connection with any particular country or territory but not by reference to race, colour or religion; |
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(b) may not provide for the requirement imposed by the order to apply to any person who under the 1971 Act has the right of abode in the United Kingdom; |
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(c) may provide for any category of persons of a description specified in the order to be exempted from the requirement imposed by the order; |
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(d) may make provision about the method of application for visas required by the order. |
| Power to detain vehicles etc. in connection with charges under section 25. |
27. - (1) A senior officer may, pending payment of any charge imposed under section 25, detain-
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(a) the transporter in which the person in respect of whom the charge was imposed was carried; or |
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(b) any other transporter used (on any route) in the course of providing a service of carriage of passengers by sea, air or land by the person on whom the charge was imposed. |
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(2) The court may release the transporter if it considers that-
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(a) satisfactory security has been tendered in place of the transporter for the payment of the charge alleged to be due and connected expenses; or |
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(b) there is a significant doubt as to whether the charge is payable and the applicant has a compelling need to have the transporter released. |
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(3) If the court has not ordered the release of the transporter, the Secretary of State may sell it if the charge in question and connected expenses are not paid before the end of the period of 56 days beginning with the date on which the detention began.
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(4) The detention of a transporter under this section is lawful even though it is subsequently established that the imposition of the charge on which the detention was based was ill-founded.
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(5) But subsection (4) does not apply if the Secretary of State was acting unreasonably in imposing the charge.
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(6) "Connected expenses" means expenses reasonably incurred by the Secretary of State in connection with the detention.
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(7) Schedule 1 applies to the detention and sale of transporters under this section.
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Interpretation |
| Interpretation of Part II. |
28. In this Part-
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"captain" means the master of a ship or commander of an aircraft; |
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"concealed" includes being concealed in any freight, stores or other thing carried in or on the vehicle, ship or aircraft concerned; |
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(a) in England and Wales, the High Court;
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(b) in Scotland, the Court of Session;
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(c) in Northern Ireland, the High Court;
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"detached trailer" means a trailer, semi-trailer, caravan or any other thing which is designed or adapted for towing by a vehicle but which has been detached for transport- |
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(a) in or on the vehicle concerned; or
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(b) in the ship or aircraft concerned (whether separately or in or on a vehicle);
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"equipment", in relation to an aircraft, includes- |
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(a) any certificate of registration, maintenance or airworthiness of the aircraft;
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(b) any log book relating to the use of the aircraft; and
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(c) any similar document;
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"operating weight", in relation to an aircraft, means the maximum total weight of the aircraft and its contents at which the aircraft may take off anywhere in the world, in the most favourable circumstances, in accordance with the certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft; |
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(a) in relation to a ship or aircraft, the agent or operator of the ship or aircraft; and
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(b) in relation to a road passenger vehicle, the operator of the vehicle; and
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in relation to a transporter which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement, includes the person in possession of it under that agreement; |
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"penalty notice" has the meaning given in section 21(2); |
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"senior officer" means an immigration officer not below the rank of chief immigration officer; |
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"ship" includes every description of vessel used in navigation; |
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"small aircraft" means an aircraft which has an operating weight of less than 5,700 kilogrammes; |
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"small ship" means a ship which has a gross tonnage of less than 500 tonnes; |
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"train" means a train which- |
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(a) is engaged on an international service as defined by section 13(6) of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987; but
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(b) is not a shuttle train as defined by section 1(9) of that Act;
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"train operator", in relation to a person arriving in the United Kingdom on a train, means the operator of trains who embarked that person on that train for the journey to the United Kingdom; |
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"transporter" means a vehicle, ship or aircraft together with- |
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(b) any stores for use in connection with its operation;
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"vehicle" includes a trailer, semi-trailer, caravan or other thing which is designed or adapted to be towed by another vehicle. |
