<?php $title = 'Immigration - Immigration to the United 
      Kingdom'; ?>
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            <h1>Immigration - Immigration to the United 
      Kingdom</h1>
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            <p>Immigration to the United Kingdom, Immigration to the 
            United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 1922, has 
            been substantial, in particular from Ireland and the former colonies 
            of the British Empire - such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the 
            Caribbean, South Africa, Kenya and Hong Kong - under British 
            nationality law. Others have come as asylum seekers, seeking 
            protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee 
            Convention, or from European Union (EU) member states, exercising 
            one of the EUs Four Freedoms. <BR><BR>About half the population 
            increase between the 1991 and 2001 censuses was due to foreign-born 
            immigration. 4.9 million People (8.3 percent of the population at 
            the time) were born abroad, although the census gives no indication 
            of their immigration status or intended length of stay. <BR><BR>In 
            2006, there were 149,035 applications for British citizenship, 32 
            percent fewer than in 2005. The number of people granted citizenship 
            during 2006 was 154,095, 5 per cent fewer than in 2005. The largest 
            groups of people granted British citizenship were from India, 
            Pakistan, Somalia and the Philippines. In 2006, 134,430 people were 
            granted settlement in the UK, a drop of 25 per cent on 
            2005.Meanwhile, migration from Central and Eastern Europe has 
            increased since 2004 with the accession to the European Union of 
            eight Central and Eastern European states, since there is free 
            movement of labour within the EU. The UK government is currently 
            phasing in a new points-based immigration system for people from 
            outside of the European Economic Area. <BR><BR>Until the 
            Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, all Commonwealth citizens could 
            enter and stay in the United Kingdom without any restriction. The 
            Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 made Citizens of the United Kingdom 
            and Colonies (CUKCs) whose passports were not directly issued by the 
            United Kingdom Government (i.e. passports issued by the Governor of 
            a colony or by the Commander of a British protectorate) subject to 
            immigration control. <BR><BR>Indians began arriving in the UK in 
            large numbers shortly after their country gained independence in 
            1947. More than 60,000 arrived before 1955, many of whom drove 
            buses, or worked in foundries or textile factories. Later arrivals 
            opened corner shops or ran post offices. The flow of Indian 
            immigrants peaked between 1965 and 1972, boosted in particular by 
            Idi Amins sudden decision to expel all 50,000 Gujarati Indians from 
            Uganda. Around 30,000 Ugandan Asians migrated to the UK. <BR><BR>By 
            1972, only holders of work permits, or people with parents or 
            grandparents born in the UK could gain entry - effectively stemming 
            primary immigration from Commonwealth countries. <BR><BR>Following 
            the end of World War II, substantial groups of people from 
            Soviet-controlled territories settled in Britain, particularly Poles 
            and Ukrainians. The UK recruited displaced people as so-called 
            European Volunteer Workers in order to provide labour to industries 
            that were required in order to aim economic recovery after the war. 
            In the 1951 census, the Polish-born population of the UK numbered 
            some 162,339, up from 44,642 in 1931. <BR><BR>There was also an 
            influx of refugees from Hungary, following the crushing of the 1956 
            Hungarian revolution, numbering 20,990. <BR><BR>The British 
            Nationality Act 1981, which was enacted in 1983, distinguishes 
            between British citizen or British Overseas Territories citizen. The 
            former hold nationality by descent and the latter hold nationality 
            other than by descent. Citizens by descent cannot automatically pass 
            on British nationality to a child born outside the United Kingdom or 
            it&#8217;s Overseas Territories (though in some situations the child can 
            be registered as a citizen). <BR><BR>Immigration officers have to be 
            satisfied about a persons nationality and identity and entry could 
            be refused if they were not satisfied.
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