The Home Office (HO), also known as the Home Department, is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. As such, it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, Border Force, visas and immigration, and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counterterrorism, and immigration. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A person keeps the status of asylum seeker until the right of asylum application has concluded.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was a department of the Government of Australia that was responsible for immigration, citizenship and border control. It has now been subsumed into the Department of Home Affairs, which combines its responsibilities with a number of other portfolios.
Immigration law includes the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although they are sometimes conflated. Countries frequently maintain laws that regulate both the rights of entry and exit as well as internal rights, such as the duration of stay, freedom of movement, and the right to participate in commerce or government.
A Canadian passport is the passport issued to citizens of Canada. It enables the bearer to enter or re-enter Canada freely; travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements; facilitates the process of securing assistance from Canadian consular officials abroad, if necessary; and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.
The European Union Visa Information System (VIS) is a database containing information, including biometrics, on visa applications by Third Country Nationals requiring a visa to enter the Schengen area.
The Lebanese passport is a passport issued to the citizens of the Republic of Lebanon to enable them to travel outside the Republic of Lebanon and entitles the bearer to the protection from the diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Lebanon if necessary. It is issued exclusively by the Lebanese Directorate General of General Security (DGGS), and can also be issued at various Lebanese diplomatic missions and/or consulates outside the Republic of Lebanon. It allows the bearer a freedom of living in the Republic of Lebanon without any immigration requirements, participate in the Lebanese political system, entry to and exit from the Republic of Lebanon through any port, travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements, facilitates the process of securing consular assistance abroad from the diplomatic missions and consulates of the Republic of Lebanon if necessary, and requests protection for the bearer while abroad.
The visa policy of Canada requires that any foreign citizen wishing to enter Canada must obtain a temporary resident visa from one of the Canadian diplomatic missions unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 53 eligible visa-exempt countries and territories or proof of permanent residence in Canada or the United States.
Visa requirements for Canadian citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Canada.
Visa requirements for Romanian citizens are the administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other territories affecting citizens of Romania. As of July 2024, Romanian citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 177 countries and territories, ranking the Romanian passport 14th in terms of travel freedom, according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Pakistani citizens are the requirements by other countries to obtain a visa before entry on an ordinary Pakistani Passport.
Visa requirements for Tuvaluan citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Tuvalu. As of 20 December 2020, Tuvaluan citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 127 countries and territories, ranking the Tuvaluan passport 45th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
Visa requirements for Venezuelan citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Venezuela.
Visa requirements for Slovak citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of Slovakia. As of July 2024, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 184 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 9th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index.
The Five Nations Passport Group is an international forum for the passport-issuing authorities of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to share best practices in the issuance, development, and management of passports. The annual Five Nations Passport Conference is a largely informal in-person meeting between officials of the participating agencies, with some additional invited guests such as the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2011. It has taken place since at least as far back as 2004.
Biometrics refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their biological and behavioral characteristics, not to be confused with statistical biometrics; which is used to analyse data in the biological sciences. Biometrics for the purposes of identification may involve DNA matching, facial recognition, fingerprints, retina and iris scanning, voice analysis, handwriting, gait, and even body odor.
A migrant crisis is a difficult or dangerous situation that arises due to the movements of large groups of immigrants in the receiving state. Migrants are often escaping from conditions which negatively affected them in the country of origin (departure). The "crisis" is not the amount of refugees, but the system's failure to respond in an orderly way to the government's legal obligations towards them. Some notable crises are; European migrant crisis, English Channel migrant crisis and World War II evacuation and expulsion.
Border Five is an informal forum on customs and border management policy issues with participation from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The participating authorities are:
The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (eu-LISA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) that was founded in 2011 to ensure the uninterrupted operation of large-scale IT systems within the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ), that are instrumental in the implementation of the asylum, border management and migration policies of the EU. It began its operational activities on 1 December 2012.
The migration and asylum policy of the European Union is within the area of freedom, security and justice, established to develop and harmonise principles and measures used by member countries of the European Union to regulate migration processes and to manage issues concerning asylum and refugee status in the European Union.
