If you or a family member has been detained by the immigration authorities, you may be able to make an application for immigration bail. It is important to apply in the correct way as you will not be able to reapply straight away if your application is refused.

An application for immigration bail can be made if you are in an immigration removal centre, a short-term holding facility or in prison provided that you are being held on immigration issues. For example, you may be held while the authorities decide whether to grant you leave to enter the UK or because you do not have a visa or you have overstayed and you are likely to be removed from the UK.

At Saxon Solicitors, we are immigration solicitors specialising in all types of immigration and asylum cases. We have a strong track record of success in making bail applications on behalf of individuals who have been detained by the Home Office.

If you need to speak to someone about obtaining immigration bail, call us and we will do all we can to help. We understand how distressing it can be to be detained and we will take prompt action on your behalf to try and secure your release, or that of your relative or friend, without delay.

We provide our services in Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish, German and Dutch as well as English.

Immigration detention

Immigration detention is an administrative process, not a criminal process, and should be used sparingly by the Home Office and not for extended periods of time.

Most individuals who have been detained have the right to apply for immigration bail.

Apply for immigration bail

There are two main ways in which immigration bail can be applied for. First, an application can be made to the Home Secretary at any time after arrival in the UK. The application will be dealt with by looking at the paperwork and without a hearing.

Secondly, if you have been in the UK for longer than eight days, you can make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), which is an immigration court. In this case, you will have a court hearing at which a tribunal judge will decide whether you will be granted immigration bail.

It will help your case if you have a place to stay as well as a ‘Financial Condition Supporter’. This is an individual who agrees to pay money if you breach your bail conditions. They will need to provide their details for the bail application and will usually need to attend court if there is a bail hearing.

If bail is refused, it is not possible to apply again for 28 days, unless your circumstances change.

Bail conditions

You may be required to comply with one or more bail conditions. These could be:

• Reporting regularly to an immigration official at a Home Office centre or to a police station
• Living in a certain specified area or place
• Wearing an electronic tag
• Attending a hearing or other appointment
• Being restricted as to whether you can work or study

If you breach your bail conditions, you are likely to be penalised. This could be by having more conditions imposed, either you or your Financial Condition Supporter having to pay money, a return to detention or a criminal charge.

Unlawful detention

Individuals who are likely to be particularly vulnerable to harm in detention should not be detained. This includes:

• Individuals aged 70 or over
• Pregnant women
• Those with serious disabilities
• Individuals with serious medical conditions that cannot be managed within a detention centre
• Those with serious mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder
• Victims of human trafficking

If you believe that you or your relative or friend are vulnerable, you are strongly advised to seek legal advice immediately. If you ask us to help you, we will take immediate action to request release on bail.

Contact our expert immigration bail solicitors

We are specialists in immigration law and have substantial experience in securing immigration bail for our clients, including in complex or challenging cases.

To speak to our UK immigration bail solicitors in Manchester, ring us on 0161 795 9955 or fill in our contact form below and we will call you back.

We are based in Manchester but deal with immigration bail applications for clients throughout England.