UK announces criminality restrictions on travelers from European Union News
stux / Pixabay
UK announces criminality restrictions on travelers from European Union

On Wednesday the UK Home Office announced that beginning in January of 2021 they will implement tougher criminality restrictions for European Union citizens who wish to enter the United Kingdom.

Then new rules will take effect the same day that free movement between the EU and the UK ends. Under this new restriction, foreign criminals who have been sentenced to more than a year in prison will be turned away. This has been the rule for all countries outside of the EU for years so British officials see is “part of the firmer and fairer approach the government is taking to the immigration system where people from across the world will be treated equally”. 

Home Secretary Patel said, “For too long, EU rules have forced us to allow dangerous foreign criminals, who abuse our values and threaten our way of life, onto our streets.” He added he believed the UK would be safer under the proposed changes.

Prior to January 1 2021 people with criminal convictions coming from the EU simply had to prove that they were no longer a threat to the UK before they were allowed in. Now, they will be automatically banned if they have served more than one year in prison if they have served less than one year in prison but upon a case by case review, UK officials believe they are a threat, or even if they have served no time in prison but have multiple offenses that caused serious harm, their presence in the UK is found to not be conducive to the public good or they have any type of criminal conviction in the past 12 months and are seeking entry for the first time.

This will not apply to EU citizens protected by the withdrawal agreement. However, if they are convicted of a crime in the UK or overseas after January 1 2021 their protected status may be revoked.