PART 3Enforcement
Powers of immigration officers etc
I147Search of premises in connection with imposition of civil penalty
1
This section applies if an immigration officer is lawfully on any premises.
2
The immigration officer may search the premises for documents which might be of assistance in determining whether a person is liable to the imposition of a penalty under—
a
section 15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (penalty for employing illegal worker etc), or
b
section 23 or 25 of the Immigration Act 2014 (penalty for leasing premises to disqualified person etc).
3
The power may be exercised—
a
only if the immigration officer has reasonable grounds for believing there are documents within subsection (2) on the premises, and
b
only to the extent that it is reasonably required for the purpose of discovering such documents.
4
An immigration officer searching premises under this section may seize any document the officer finds which the officer has reasonable grounds for believing is a document within subsection (2).
5
Subsection (6) applies where—
a
an immigration officer is searching premises under this section, and
b
any document the officer has reasonable grounds for believing is a document within subsection (2) is stored in any electronic form and is accessible from the premises.
6
The immigration officer may require the document to be produced in a form in which it can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible or from which it can readily be produced in a visible and legible form.
7
If a requirement under subsection (6) is not complied with or a document to which that subsection applies cannot be produced in a form of the kind mentioned in that subsection, the immigration officer may seize the device or medium on which it is stored.
8
But subsections (4) to (7) do not apply to a document or item which the immigration officer has reasonable grounds for believing is an item subject to legal privilege.
9
An immigration officer may retain a document or item seized under this section while the officer has reasonable grounds for believing that the document may be required—
a
for the purposes of determining whether a person is liable to the imposition of a penalty under a provision mentioned in subsection (2),
b
for the purposes of any objection relating to the imposition of such a penalty, or
c
for the purposes of any appeal or other legal proceedings relating to the imposition of such a penalty.
10
But a document or item may not be retained for a purpose mentioned in subsection (9) if a photograph or copy would be sufficient for that purpose.
11
Section 28I of the Immigration Act 1971 (seized material: access and copying) applies to a document seized and retained under this section as it applies to anything seized and retained under Part 3 of that Act.