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<p>This Government puts the rights of the British public before those of criminals,
and we are clear that foreign criminals should be deported from the UK wherever it
is legal and practical to do so.</p><p>Foreign national offenders (FNOs) who abuse
our hospitality should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them and since
2010 we have removed over 55,000.</p><p>In the period April 2019 to March 2020, we
removed over 2,000 FNOs direct from prison under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) many
of whom were identified as FNOs who wanted to leave the UK. Those who wish to return
home voluntarily are now fast tracked through the system to ensure a speedy removal.</p><p>We
make every effort to ensure that an FNO’s deportation coincides, as far as possible,
with their release from prison however the deportation of FNOs is complex. We are
working with the Ministry of Justice on options to maximise the opportunities for
early removal of FNOs under ERS.</p><p>All FNOs are referred to the Home Office by
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service within ten days of being sentenced and
five days when they have received a short prison sentence, so that deportation action
can be considered and progressed. If an FNO meets the criteria for deportation, a
notification of liability to deportation is served and deportation proceedings commence.
The Home Office is now serving FNOs with notices of liability to deportation earlier
in their sentence. This allows time to progress the case and remove barriers so that
FNOs can be removed more quickly.</p>
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