Immigration Detention & Bail

If you, or someone close to you, has been detained under immigration powers, it is natural to feel frightened and uncertain. There are clear legal routes to seek release, and acting promptly helps. We deal with detention matters urgently and in confidence.

Immigration bail

Release from immigration detention is usually through immigration bail under Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016. Bail is also used for people who are liable to be detained but are living in the community. There are two main ways to apply:

• Home Office bail: an application to the Home Office on form BAIL401, which can be made at any time after arrival. It is decided on the papers.
• Tribunal bail: an application to the First-tier Tribunal on form B1, which can be made once the person has been in the UK for more than 8 days. An independent judge decides the application, usually at a hearing by video, after the Home Office provides a bail summary setting out its position.

If a tribunal bail application has been refused in the last 28 days, a new hearing will usually only be held if there has been a material change in circumstances.

Supporting a bail application

A bail application is stronger where it addresses the Home Office's concerns directly. That usually means a confirmed address where the person can live, evidence of ties in the UK, details of any ongoing immigration or asylum case, and any medical or vulnerability evidence. Where the Home Office plans to remove the person within 21 days of a tribunal grant of bail, the Home Office must agree to release, so the timing and status of any removal arrangements are also important.

Automatic bail referrals

In many cases, the Home Office must refer a detained person to the tribunal for a bail hearing after 4 months in detention, and then every 4 months, unless the person has applied themselves in that period. Automatic referral does not apply in some cases, including deportation and national security cases, so it is not a substitute for applying.

Bail conditions

Bail is granted subject to conditions, which may include:

• Reporting to the Home Office at set times.
• Living at a specified address.
• Electronic monitoring (tagging).
• Restrictions on work or study.
• A financial condition, where a supporter agrees to pay a sum if conditions are broken.
• Since 5 January 2026, conditions requiring a person to be at a particular place at certain times, to remain within an area, or not to enter a specified area.

Breaching conditions can have serious consequences. It is sometimes possible to ask for conditions to be varied.

How long can someone be detained?

There is no general statutory time limit on immigration detention in the UK. Specific limits apply to some groups, such as pregnant women and unaccompanied children. Otherwise, detention must be for a lawful purpose (usually removal), must last only for a reasonable period, and should end if removal cannot take place within a reasonable time. Home Office policy on adults at risk also requires evidence of particular vulnerability, for example serious illness or evidence of torture, to be weighed against the reasons for detention.

The Home Office reviews detention regularly, but these reviews are internal. They are not a time limit and do not replace a bail application.

Challenging unlawful detention

Where detention itself is unlawful, for example because removal is not realistic within a reasonable period or policy was not followed, it can be challenged by judicial review in the High Court (Administrative Court). This is separate from a bail application.

Information we need quickly

• The detained person's full name, date of birth and Home Office reference number.
• Where they are held.
• Copies of any recent Home Office decisions or letters.
• A proposed address, and details of anyone willing to act as a financial condition supporter.
• Any medical or vulnerability information.

How Stonebridge can help

• Urgent advice on the options for release.
• Preparing and submitting bail applications to the Home Office or the tribunal.
• Preparing supporters and evidence for bail hearings.
• Advising on the lawfulness of detention and on the underlying immigration or asylum case.
• Applications to vary bail conditions.

No outcome can be guaranteed, but early, well-prepared applications matter. If someone has been detained, please contact us straight away or book a consultation.