The new fast-track appeals system will apply to foreign criminals at the end of their jail sentence who have been recommended for deportation.

It will also apply to asylum seekers who have been transferred to Immigration Removal centres after their claims to stay in the UK have been rejected.

Under the new scheme the time appeals at first-tier tribunals will be capped at between 25 and 28 days. A further 20 days will be allowed for further appeals that are lodged at the upper tribunal.

The independent Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC), which sets rules for tribunals, will now consider whether and how the proposals should be implemented.

Sir Oliver Heald, a justice minister, said: "We think our proposals would provide certainty to appellants, their families and legal representatives, with a clear timetable to ensure their cases are dealt with swiftly, minimising their time in detention."

However John Pugh, a Liberal Democrat MP, said: "These proposals are too little too late. Time limits for appeals will do little to fix our shambles of an asylum system, from cash-strapped courts to lax border controls.

"The Government is simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic."

It came as 62 landlords were fined a total of £67,000 under a crackdown on illegal immigration.