Border and Immigration Agency
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The Border and Immigration Agency was an executive agency of the British Home Office, created on 1 April 2007. The Agency assumed the responsibilities of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) for managing immigration control in the UK. The BIA also considered applications for visas to enter the UK, permission to remain, citizenship,asylum and in-country enforcement of immigration law. The headquarters were located in Croydon.
The BIA was responsible for delivering the e-border programme, a modernised border control system proposed by UK Government and a new programme of biometrically controlled identity documents for foreign nationals.
On 1st April 2008 the BIA became the UK Border Agency following a merger with UKvisas, the port of entry functions of HM Revenue and Customs.
