ABSTRACT
This chapter describes major changes in British law on immigration and focuses on particular administrative rules, regulations and procedures comprising the immigration control regime developed between 1979 and 1990. It analyses the political processes by which the immigration regime reached the statute book, and the debates that were generated during the passage of some of the laws. The post-war period witnessed a considerable influx of immigrants particularly from Asian and Africans countries. The first legislation was the 1948 British Nationality Act, introduced by the Labour Government, which was stimulated partly by a shortage of labour. The virginity tests were carried out on non-patrial wives who were seeking to enter Britain on a permanent stay basis in order to rejoin their husbands or get married to fiancés who enjoyed British citizenship status. On 1st September 1986 the Conservative government decided to impose visa requirements on citizens of India, Nigeria, Ghana and Pakistan who sought to enter the UK.
