| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An act to make provision about the removal of certain migrants to the Republic of Rwanda. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2024 c. 8 |
| Introduced by | James Cleverly, Home Secretary (Commons) The Lord Sharpe of Epsom, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Lords) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 April 2024 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The act seeks to deter unlawful migration, particularly by unsafe and illegal routes, by allowing some migrants to be sent to the Republic of Rwanda.[1] It was introduced in the House of Commons on 7 December 2023, by James Cleverly, Home Secretary, passed its second reading on 12 December and passed its third reading on 17 January 2024.
The bill was introduced to the House of Lords by Lord Sharpe of Epsom, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, passed Committee Stage on 19 February 2024, and passed Report Stage on 6 March 2024.
After its third reading in the Lords, the bill returned to the Commons for consideration of amendments, which took place on 18 March 2024. The government disagreed with all the Lords’ amendments.[2]
After this, the bill returned to the Lords for consideration of Commons disagreements on 20 March 2024, where the Lords insisted on a number of amendments. The bill was then sent back and forth four times where it waited on Commons consideration of Lords amendments on 22 April 2024, and where the government vowed to disagree with the amendments. The bill returned to the Lords the same day for consideration of Commons disagreements. There was speculation about the double-insistence rule and its implications for the bill, including the use of the Parliament Acts.[3][4]
Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, vowed that Parliament would sit day and night until the Lords backed down on 22 April 2024.[5]
The bill had two extra rounds of Parliamentary ping-pong on 22 April 2024 and the Lords did not insist on their amendments in the early hours of 23 April 2024.[6]
The bill therefore passed both Houses of Parliament and received royal assent on 25 April 2024.[7] The act will come into force with the United Kingdom-Rwanda Asylum Partnership Treaty.[8]
- ^ Joanna Dawson, C. J. McKinney, "Research Briefing: Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill 2023-24", House of Commons Library, 8 December 2023, accessed 9 December 2023
- ^ "House of Commons - Lords Amendments: Monday 18 March 2024" (PDF). PARLIAMENT.UK. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "UK Parliament - Double insistence". PARLIAMENT.UK. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Persistent Rwanda Deadlock Could Kill Rishi Sunak's Deportation Plans". Politics Home. 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "'We will sit there and vote until it's done': Sunak promises to get Rwanda bill through parliament on Monday". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
- ^ "Rwanda bill to become law after late night row between government and Lords". Sky News. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
- ^ "Britain's Rwanda asylum legislation formally becomes law". The Straits Times. 2024-04-25. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ^ Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, section 9
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