Strip-searching for nationality documents

Section 51 of the UK’s Immigration Act 2016 introduced a new power to conduct strip-searches for nationality documents on those held in immigration detention or in prisons. Unlike in previous case law, the goal of this new power appears to be administrative efficiency, rather than safety and security. This article describes the wider legal context of the measure and analyses it from a human rights perspective. This includes an in-depth examination of the administrative justification for this new power as well as a critical look at some of the issues with strip-searching in practice.