| Policy/Legislation | Type | Year | Overview |
| Fairer, Faster and Firmer: A Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum | White Paper | 1998 | Instituted new controls but also a "covenant" with asylum seekers; emphasized "joined up" government and the need for administrative overhaul. |
| Human Rights Act | Parliamentary Act | 1998 | Incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, giving human rights the status of "higher law." |
| Immigration and Asylum Act | Parliamentary Act | 1999 | Created a "covenant" with asylum seekers but generally restrictive; made provisions for a new welfare support system (the National Asylum Support Service). |
| Race Relations (Amendment) Act | Parliamentary Act | 2000 | Broadened antidiscrimination legislation to police and immigration service and created "positive duty" for race equality on public authorities. |
| Antiterrorism, Crime and Security Act | Parliamentary Act | 2001 | Part 4 of the act legislated that suspected terrorists who were immigrants could be interned (potentially on a permanent basis). The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) reviews decisions, but the act does not permit judicial review of the SIAC. |
| Secure Borders, Safe Havens: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain | White Paper | 2002 | Set out comprehensive reform, including the goal of "managed migration." |
| The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act | Parliamentary Act | 2002 | Increased restrictions on asylum (breaking the previous "covenant") and new enforcement powers, but noted support of economic migration. |
| Highly Skilled Migrant Program (HSMP) | Change to regulations | 2002 | Created an immigration scheme based on points that aims to attract high-skilled migrants. |
| Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act | Parliamentary Act | 2004 | Further reduced asylum appeal rights and other restrictive measures. |
| Controlling our Borders: Making Migration Work for Britain | Five-Year Departmental Plan | 2005 | Published three months before the 2005 election, the plan set out a strong set of measures on gaining control of borders and managing migration through a new points system. |
| Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society: The Government’s Strategy to Increase Race Equality and Community Cohesion | Policy Strategy | 2005 | A race-equality strategy designed to cut across government, complemented by a cross-cutting, race-equality target, and overseen by a board of senior public figures. |
| Integration Matters: The National Integration Strategy for Refugees | Policy Strategy | 2005 | Strategy meant to integrate refugees, including new "integration loans" and the piloting of a one-to-one caseworker model. Built on strategy formulated in 2000. |
| A Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain | Policy Strategy | 2006 | Proposed a five-tier economic migration system. Tiers equate to categories: (1) high skilled, (2) skilled with job offer, (3) low skilled, (4) students, and (5) miscellaneous. |
| Immigration, Asylum, and Nationality (IAN) Act | Parliamentary Act | 2006 | Mainly focused on immigration (rather than asylum), it included restrictions on appeal rights, sanctions on employers of unauthorized labor, and a tightening of citizenship rules. |
| Fair, Effective, Transparent and Trusted: Rebuilding Confidence in Our Immigration System | Reform Strategy | 2006 | Created the arm's-length Border and Immigration Agency, which replaced the Immigration and Nationality Directorate on April 2, 2007. |
| Enforcing the Rules: A Strategy to Ensure and Enforce Compliance with Our Immigration Laws | Policy Strategy | 2007 | Called for secure border control built on biometric visas and greater checks. |
| UK Borders Bill | Parliamentary Bill | 2007 | Proposes police powers for immigration officers and a requirement that foreign nationals must have a Biometric Immigration Document (BID). |
www.migrationpolicy.org
