Legislation – Immigration Act 2016
Changes to legislation:
Immigration Act 2016, Section 50 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 01 April 2026. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
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PART 3Enforcement
Powers of immigration officers etc
50Retention of things seized under Part 3 of the Immigration Act 1971
“28ZIRetention of seized material
(1)
This section applies to anything seized by an immigration officer under this Part for the purposes of the investigation of an offence or on the basis that it may be evidence relating to an offence.
(2)
Anything seized as mentioned in subsection (1) may be retained so long as is necessary in all the circumstances and in particular—
(a)
may be retained, except as provided for by subsection (3)—
(i)
for use as evidence at a trial for an offence, or
(ii)
for forensic examination or for investigation in connection with an offence, and
(b)
may be retained in order to establish its lawful owner, where there are reasonable grounds for believing that it has been obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence.
(3)
Nothing may be retained for a purpose mentioned in subsection (2)(a) if a photograph or copy would be sufficient for that purpose.”