Paddington: Mr and Mrs Brown could go down for 14 years

The Free Movement blog has been looking at the new Paddington movie:

Paddington stows away and deliberately avoids the immigration authorities on arrival. He is in formal legal terms an illegal entrant and as such commits a criminal offence under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971. It is an offence punishable by up to six months in prison. If or when detected by the authorities it is more likely he would simply be removed back to Peru than that he would be prosecuted, though. To avoid that fate he would need to make out a legal basis to stay. 

Incidentally, for offering a home to Paddington - or harbouring him, as the Home Office would have it - Mr and Mrs Brown could potentially face prosecution under section 25 of the Immigration Act 1971, entitled “Assisting unlawful immigration to member State”. The maximum sentence is 14 years.

"Crikey!" said Jonathan.