UK: Up to £20,000 for transporting an illegal immigrant from 13 February
The Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme (‘the Scheme’), which comes into effect on 13 February, introduces penelties for carrying a clandestine entrant or for failing to secure a goods vehicle. These penalties can be imposed on responsible persons, including owners, hirers and drivers.
Carrying clandestine entrants
❗ The maximum level of penalty will be £6,000 if a responsible person has no record of liability in the five years prior to the incident under consideration,
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £10,000 if a responsible person has been issued with one penalty in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum aggregate penalty for all responsible persons per clandestine entrant is £20,000.
Applying discounts to starting point level of penalty
❗ 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is a member of the Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is not the driver and was not present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, but they acted to ensure compliance with the Regulations
Failure to secure a goods vehicle:
❗ the maximum penalty will be £1,500 if a responsible person has no record of liability in the five years prior to the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £3,000 if a responsible person has been issued with one penalty in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ the maximum level of penalty will be £6,000 if a responsible person has been issued with two or more penalties in the five years prior to the date of the incident under consideration
❗ The maximum total penalty (payable by all liable responsible persons combined per incident) is £12,000
Applying discounts to starting point level of penalty
❗ 50% discount to the starting point level of penalty will be applied if the responsible person is a member of the Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is the driver, or another responsible person who was present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, and they complied with the Regulations.
❗ A further 50% discount will be applied to the starting point level of penalty if the responsible person is not the driver and was not present during the vehicle or detached trailer’s journey to the United Kingdom, but they acted to ensure compliance with the Regulations.
The Secretary of State will consider requests from responsible persons to apply means testing to reduce any remaining level of penalty.
For individuals, means testing will take into account that individual’s income, including any overtime income, for the three months prior to the incident. In determining the exact level of penalty, the Secretary of State will consider any representations made by the individual regarding their personal financial circumstances, such as their outgoings.
For companies which are issued with a penalty, means testing will be available for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The government has published Guidance on preventing clandestine entry in 22 languages, which can be downloaded from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clandestine-entrant-civil-penalty-scheme
