If you were held in immigration detention when the Home Office had no lawful power to hold you, you can claim compensation for false imprisonment. These claims are brought in the County Court or the High Court, or as part of a judicial review while detention continues.

When detention is unlawful

Detention is unlawful where:

there was no lawful purpose, for example no realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable time;
the period became longer than was reasonable in all the circumstances;
the Home Office failed to act with diligence to bring about removal;
the Home Office failed to follow its own published policy, such as the adults at risk policy or the rules on detention of people with a pending application, and the failure bore on the decision to detain;
the decision to detain was based on a mistake about the person's status or history.

A claim can succeed for part of a period of detention, for example the months after it became clear that removal could not happen.

Damages

Compensation reflects the length of detention, the conditions, the effect on the person and any aggravating conduct. Where the Home Office could lawfully have detained anyway had it followed the right process, damages may be nominal; where it could not, they are substantial. We assess which applies before advising you to claim.

Time limits and funding

A false imprisonment claim must be brought within six years of the detention. Legal aid may be available where the claim has merit; otherwise we consider a conditional fee agreement. Claims brought in judicial review while detention continues are funded as part of that claim.

What we do

We obtain the Home Office's detention records through a subject access request, analyse the detention reviews against the policy and the legal limits, and bring the claim. We also act for people still detained, combining the challenge to detention with a damages claim.