From the 1880s, states and self-governing colonies in America, Australasia and South Africa began to introduce laws to regulate entry of ‘undesirable immigrants’, and Britain followed this trend with the 1905 Aliens Act.

The 1905 Aliens Act was passed in response to the persecution of Eastern European Jews and their forced migration, during which around 120,000 to 150,000 European Jews settled in Britain between 1881 and 1914. The act has been framed as the original basis for further and more substantial restrictions in the 1960s. There was no comprehensive system of regulation or restriction in Britain before this act was passed, except for the Registration of Aliens Act 1836, which was thinly implemented.

The main focus of this article was the asylum provisions which the act gave, which permitted entry to the UK to those who were at risk of persecution or prosecution for political or religious reasons. The asylum clause made a change from previous legislation and inspired the development of future legislation. For example, successive acts were passed in 1914 and 1919.

The article looks at the idea of the ‘right to asylum’ through the interwar and mid-twentieth century period.

The act defined certain immigrants as ‘undesirable’ and detailed processes by which undesirable immigrants could be sent back to their country of origin at many ports, or be deported if already a resident. Undesirable immigrants were defined as those who could not ‘decently support’ themselves and any dependents they may have had, those who were a ‘lunatic or idiot’, or those who had been sentenced for a non-political crime in a foreign country.

The article states that it is not often remembered that the 1905 Aliens Act was the first time an individual’s right to asylum was written into a law, and the article believes that this could be because British officials distanced themselves from the principle.