Banks told to check if customers are illegal migrants

Lenders will have to confirm whether their customers are legally in the UK from January. Any found to be in Britain unlawfully face having their accounts frozen or closed.

But finance expert Philip Augar, a former board member of TSB, warned of looming ‘nightmare’, saying mistakes would inevitably be made.

Under the new Home Office regime, financial institutions will be provided with a list from antifraud organisation Cifas on people who are liable for removal or deportation from the UK or who have absconded from immigration control.

They will then have to report any names they discover and freeze or close the accounts. Around 70 million accounts will be looked at quarterly to check the immigration status of the holders.

Mr Augar, who also previously worked at the Home Office, said it was reasonable for ‘law breakers to expect the full weight of enforcement’, but raised concerns about how mistakes would be addressed. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘This is in the hands of the Home Office and the banks, neither of which are exactly known for flawless execution.

‘What happens when something goes wrong – if a bank account is frozen and the owner is entirely legal or if they’ve simply got the wrong name?’

The rules were approved by Parliament in December last year, but will not come into force until this coming January.

The checks form part of a series of measures in the Immigration Act 2016 aimed at encouraging illegal immigrants to leave the UK voluntarily.

The Home Office said it would only share details of immigrants who were in the UK unlawfully.

This would include those who had exhausted all appeal rights, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said. Migrants in the UK legally would ‘of course’ be able to continue using their accounts, she added.

But the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants criticised the move, saying migrants ‘with every right to be here’ will be affected.

Chief executive Satbir Singh told The Guardian: ‘The Government’s own record shows that it cannot be trusted even to implement this system properly...The Home Office consistently gives out incorrect information and guidance.’

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are developing an immigration system which is fair to people who are here legally, but firm with those who break the rules. Everyone in society can play their part in tackling illegal migration.’

‘Firm with those that break the rules’

BANKS and building societies have been ordered to carry out checks on 70 million account holders to see if they are illegal immigrants.