Returns preparation: caseworker guidance
Immigration staff guidance on arranging removals for officers dealing with immigration enforcement matters within the UK.
Documents
Details
UK Visas and Immigration guidance on how staff prepare and arrange for a single person or a family group to be removed from the UK.
It also contains information on decisions to separate family members as a consequence of detention or removal.
Guidance in this section has been reworked into a new format and plainer language. Not all of the enforcement guidance has been revised yet. If you cannot find the information you need in this section, please look in the ‘chapters’ sections of Enforcement instructions and guidance.
We are aware that some of these publications may have accessibility issues. We are reviewing it so that we can fix them.
Read more about our accessible documents policy.
Updates to this page
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Guidance on 'Enforced removals: notice periods' and 'Judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights' updated to change references to ‘charter’ and provide a definition.
Update history
2025-12-05 16:31
‘Enforced removals: notice periods’ updated to allow for discretion on a case-by-case basis on whether to cancel departure or proceed with removal where a further submission amounting to a fresh claim is made after service of the Notice of Departure Details (NDD) and the person is returning to a safe ECHR country.
2025-08-08 13:03
Guidance on ‘Enforced removals: notice periods’ and ‘Judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights’ updated to change references to ‘charter’ and provide a definition.
2025-08-07 14:02
Arranging removal guidance updated to amend references to ‘charter’ (including a definition) and ‘Carson Wagonlit Travel’.
2024-05-13 00:01
Guidance on the safety of Rwanda updated; new guidance on removal of failed asylum seekers to Rwanda added; exchange of letters added concerning the interpretation of terms in the Rwanda partnership agreement between Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the British High Commissioner.
2024-04-29 09:00
The guidance “enforced removals: notice periods” has been updated. Updates to bring into line with and cross-refer to changes to Judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights: in relation to enforcement of immigration removal and deportation.
2024-04-29 00:01
Updated “Judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights” guidance, “Arranging removal” guidance, “Notification of special arrangements (court letter)” and added “Safety of Rwanda” guidance in light of the introduction of the Safety of Rwanda Act.
2024-03-18 16:29
Published new version of the voluntary and assisted departures guidance as links to Home Office guidance and other relevant webpages have been updated.
2024-03-11 12:31
Published voluntary and assisted departures guidance. This has been updated to amend references to ‘voluntary returns’ to ‘voluntary departures’ in line with the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, along with minor drafting changes.
2024-02-21 09:37
Updated to correct the initial consideration and assessment of liability to administrative removal guide, so it now refers to ‘destination country’ rather than ‘home country’.
2024-02-16 11:12
Removal of ‘Administrative removal: notification and implementation – interim guidance’ and ‘Suspension of enforced removal window’ documents as they are no longer relevant.
2024-02-15 17:26
‘Initial consideration and assessment of liability to administrative removal’ updated.
2023-11-28 16:47
Updated family returns process guidance to incorporate updates in light of changes to section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 as amended by section 46 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
2023-11-20 00:01
Updated the documents ‘Arranging removal’, ‘Initial consideration and assessment of liability to administrative removal’ and ‘Judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights’ in line with changes brought by section 46 of the Nationality and Border Act 2022. Added a new document: ‘Enforced removals: notice periods’.
2023-03-10 16:35
Information on authority levels for service of a notice of liability has been removed from the Administrative Removal notification and implementation – interim guidance.
2023-02-10 09:07
‘Arranging removal’ guidance updated (pdf).
2023-02-06 10:03
Added administrative removal: notification and implementation – interim guidance.
2023-02-02 14:24
Removed ‘Returns: case consideration’ and ‘Returns preparation: referral and case assessment’ documents as they are no longer relevant.
2023-02-02 12:18
Added Initial consideration and assessment of liability to administrative removal.
2023-01-27 13:34
Updated guidance on judicial reviews, injunctions and applications to the European Court of Human Rights. Changes are detailed on page 4 of the document. Document ‘Suspension of enforced removal window’ temporarily removed pending update.
2022-10-22 00:15
Minor text change at pages 23 and 25 in ‘Judicial reviews and injunctions’ doc to link the special arrangements (charter flights) section to exceptions to standard notification of removal.
2022-08-15 11:34
‘Judicial reviews and injunctions’ has been updated and ‘Notification of special arrangements (court letter)’ was added.