Part 3: Immigration Offences and Enforcement Immigration Offences and Penalties Section 43: Working in United Kingdom Waters: Arrival and Entry
Overview: This section clarifies the legal framework for the requirement that individuals working in UK waters need permission to do so. This includes working in the territorial seas and internal waters of the United Kingdom, and it ensures a consistent position with those coming to work on the UK landmass. All foreign nationals require permission to work in UK waters, unless they are covered by an exemption, and the section confirms this position.
	Background: Under the Immigration Act 1971 ("the 1971 Act") a migrant with permission to enter or stay in the UK for a limited period may be subject to conditions such as restricting their work or occupation in the UK. This also applies to those working in UK waters, but the framework of the 1971 Act can give rise to confusion about the way in which these restrictions operate. This section will clarify the position.
	Subsection 1 inserts new section 11A and 11B into the 1971 Act.
	Section 11A provides that a person is an "offshore worker" where they arrive in UK waters for the purpose of working in those waters, and they have not already entered the UK (e.g., by arriving and disembarking on the UK landmass). The provision confirms that an offshore worker "arrives in" the UK when they arrive in UK waters and that they "enter" the UK when they start working in those waters. It confirms that references to "arriving in" or "entering" the UK in the Immigration Acts include those who are covered by this provision and stipulates that where a person temporarily enters non-UK waters in connection with their work, they will not be considered to have left the United Kingdom. The section confirms that crew exercising the right of innocent passage or transit passage in the territorial sea are not affected, and it will not affect crew covered by section 8(1).
	Section 11B provides a regulation-making power to enable the Secretary of State to make provision to require workers and, if they have one, their sponsor to provide information about the worker’s arrival and entry into, and departure from, the UK.
	Subsection 2 inserts a Schedule 5, which makes consequential amendments to enforcement provisions.