Updated Home Office caseworker guidance states that suspended sentences of 12 months or more count towards the automatic deportation threshold only where the conviction was on or after 22 March 2026.
Key facts
- Who: Non-British, non-Irish citizens convicted in the UK and given a suspended sentence of at least 12 months; Home Office caseworkers making deportation decisions
- From: Convictions on or after 22 March 2026 (guidance version 8.0, updated 3 August 2026)
- Source: Deportation on conducive grounds Immigration Act 1971 and UK Borders Act 2007 (accessible)
The Home Office has published version 8.0 of its UK Visas and Immigration guidance "Deportation on conducive grounds Immigration Act 1971 and UK Borders Act 2007". Version 8.0 was published for Home Office staff on 31 July 2026, and the page shows an update date of 3 August 2026. The only change it lists is a clarification of how suspended sentences are treated under the threshold for automatic deportation.
Section 3.1 explains that the UK Borders Act 2007 places a duty on the Secretary of State to make a deportation order against a "foreign criminal". That is a person who is not a British or Irish citizen, has been convicted of an offence in the UK and has been sentenced to at least 12 months' imprisonment. The sentence can be an immediate custodial sentence or a suspended sentence, but a suspended sentence counts only where the person was convicted on or after 22 March 2026.
The guidance applies the same date to the definition of "foreign criminal" in section 117D of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which is used for the Article 8 public interest considerations.
Section 3.2 sets out the government's policy threshold. Deportation on grounds of criminality is pursued where a person has received an immediate custodial sentence or a suspended sentence of 12 months or more for a single conviction in the UK. For suspended sentences, the conviction must have been given on or after 22 March 2026.
The duty to deport does not apply if an exception under section 33 of the 2007 Act applies. In that case the Secretary of State considers whether deportation remains appropriate.
Section 4.1 says the Probation Service in England and Wales is responsible for referring foreign nationals given a suspended sentence or a community order to Foreign National Offender Returns Command, which considers whether deportation is appropriate.
The guidance applies to any non-British citizen who does not have rights protected under the Agreements, and to people with protected rights in relation to conduct after 23:00 GMT on 31 December 2020.
What this means in practice
This is internal guidance for Home Office caseworkers. Under it, a suspended sentence of 12 months or more given on a conviction before 22 March 2026 does not count towards the "foreign criminal" definition or the policy threshold on the basis of that sentence. For a conviction on or after 22 March 2026, a suspended sentence of 12 months or more counts towards both.
Sources
- Deportation on conducive grounds Immigration Act 1971 and UK Borders Act 2007 (accessible), UK Visas and Immigration, version 8.0, updated 3 August 2026
- GOV.UK publication page