| Short Title: | Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 |
| 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. |
| Statute Book Chapter: | 1999 c 33 |
| Territorial Extent: | England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland |
| Royal Assent: | 11 November 1999 |
| Status: | Amended |
| Original Text: | http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/33/contents |
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]
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]