Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (c. 33) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It followed a 1998 government white paper entitled "Fairer, Faster And Firmer – A Modern Approach To Immigration And Asylum".^[1] Its main aim was to create a faster system to deal with a backlog of cases.^[2]

Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision about immigration and asylum; to make provision about procedures in connection with marriage on superintendent registrar’s certificate; and for connected purposes.
Citation	1999 c. 3
Territorial extent	England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Dates
Royal assent	11 November 1999
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

One of the most notable parts of the new law was to introduce the dispersal policy under section 95 of the act. This system allowed for the creation of dispersal areas around the United Kingdom, where asylum applicants would be accommodated while their claims for asylum were reviewed.^[3] The act provided for two types of accommodation, "initial accommodation", which was generally available for up to two weeks, and "dispersal" accommodation, which could be occupied for longer periods.^[4]