A right to support when returning to the UK

For people returning to the UK after prison overseas there is no statutory provision in place to support their integration into UK society. The support provided by prison and immigration authorities in the lead-up to a deportation can vary immensely from country to country.  

Our support helps people to face the future after a prison sentence with hope and to integrate so that they can desist from crime and build a positive life on return to the UK.  

We believe that people returning from a prison sentence overseas should be able to receive voluntary probation support for a minimum of 12 months on return, to support rehabilitation, reduce reoffending, and ensure a smoother transition back into the community. This would build on precedent in the UK set by the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, which introduced a mandatory 12-month community supervision for people released half-way through a short prison.   

We believe those who don’t want to be deported (because they have family connections to their country of imprisonment and do not consider the UK their home) should be allowed to remain in the country upon release.  

We also believe that those awaiting deportation in prisons and immigration detention centres should be given sufficient support and information in the lead-up to a deportation, including being provided with appropriate notice of their deportation and proper communication between prison or immigration officials and consular staff from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. This ensures we can best prepare someone for a deportation and support them to positively reintegrate into society on arrival to the UK. 

News and blogs

New research project on desistance following overseas imprisonment

Update on our research project in partnership with University of Cambridge

Reimagining futures through creativity