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Declare past crimes

Migrant teachers and nurses will be forced to declare criminal past before being allowed into Britain

Home Office reveals those from outside EU will  need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in VISA application

MIGRANT teachers and nurses will be forced to declare any criminal past before being allowed to come to the UK.

The Home Office yesterday revealed that from April, migrants from outside the EU would need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in their VISA application.

 Migrant teachers and nurses will be forced to declare any criminal past before being allowed to come to the UK
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Migrant teachers and nurses will be forced to declare any criminal past before being allowed to come to the UKCredit: Getty Images

It will involve providing proof of criminal record checks for every country they have lived in for the last 10 years.

Currently the thousands who come to the UK for jobs that involve working with children or vulnerable adults only have to “self-declare” once they are here.

It came as the Home Office separately unveiled plans to ban non-EU migrants from coming back to Britain for a year if they fail to leave the country 30 days after their visa expires.

 Robert Goodwill of the Immigration Office said the move would 'strengthen safeguard'
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Robert Goodwill of the Immigration Office said the move would 'strengthen safeguard'Credit: PA:Press Association Archive

The current ‘grace period’ is 90 days.

Robert Goodwill of the Immigration Office said the move would “strengthen safeguards”.

In a statement he said: “Our priority is keeping families, communities and our country safe.

“Foreign criminals have absolutely no right to be working with society’s most vulnerable.”

But MPs said it defied belief the Home Office didn’t already demand the criminal check – given it does apply to entrepreneurs or investors coming to Britain.

Lib Dem chief Tim Farron said: “For a Government that talks tough on immigration it’s remarkable the current security measures rely on asking a criminal to admit they’ve done something wrong.”

 The Home Office revealed that from April, migrants from outside the EU would need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in their VISA application
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The Home Office revealed that from April, migrants from outside the EU would need to provide a certificate disclosing convictions in their VISA applicationCredit: Getty Images

The crackdown applies to migrants looking to work in a host of various jobs – from dentists to midwives, radiographers, probation officers, social workers and pharmacists.

It will not apply to anyone from within the European Union – who still enjoy free movement rights to come to Britain. Currently the Government can automatically refuse entry to migrants who have been jailed for four years or more. Those sentenced to 12 months or more can be barred for up to 10 years after their sentence ends.

 Lib Dem chief Tim Farron said: 'For a Government that talks tough on immigration it’s remarkable the current security measures rely on asking a criminal to admit they’ve done something wrong.'
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Lib Dem chief Tim Farron said: 'For a Government that talks tough on immigration it’s remarkable the current security measures rely on asking a criminal to admit they’ve done something wrong.'Credit: PA:Press Association

James Brokenshire first mooted the proposals two years ago saying it was designed to stop foreign criminals from ever reaching British soil. Just months before judges ruled the Home Office couldn’t deport a criminal back to Libya because he was an alcoholic.

The Libyan man argued that despite 70 offences in the UK he would face physical punishment if sent back to his native country.

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