But these workers were not enough, so the country looked to the West Indies, where many men had fought on the Allied side, while others had worked in the UK during the war.

The Caribbean workers were recruited in spite of strong official reluctance, even though labour shortages were very severe. In their defence, some parliamentarians argued that they were perfectly entitled to enter Britain as they held UK passports.

There were considerably different attitudes to recruiting workers from among wartime refugees and from the British colonies. The Windrush episode prompted a no-holds-barred debate about what effect non-white immigration might have on British society.

Making Laws

The British Nationality Act of 1948 was the first attempt to sort immigration policy by specific reference to racial origin. It was partly driven by the independence being granted to certain former territories of the Empire, such as India. Since then all immigration legislation has made inward migration to the UK more difficult.

Tough new restrictions were imposed by the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, as a whole new generation of former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean gained independence. The previous automatic right of settlement for citizens of these territories was now revoked.

A similarly named Act of 1968 was intended specifically to address the potential influx of Asian workers from east Africa (Uganda and Kenya), who were all existing UK passport holders. The Immigration Appeals Act 1969 established an appeals system for the first time.

All these initiatives were consolidated into the Immigration Act 1971. Applicants now needed a work permit, and only qualified if they had a parent or grandparent who was born here. The same rules did not apply to areas of the former Empire with predominantly white populations.

Subsequent legislation has amended this comprehensive body of law – each new act having the effect of making asylum-seeking more difficult, and each granting enhanced powers to immigration officers.

Into the 21st century

Recent legislation has included the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The latter simplifies the system for those coming to work in the UK through established channels (“managed migration”), but makes it harder to claim to be fleeing persecution.

Most migration into Britain now takes place under the ordinary work permit system, or the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme. The HSMP seeks to attract people into highly skilled sectors where there are shortages, and where they will be substantial contributors to the tax economy, such as the health service and engineering. 

A new citizenship ceremony was introduced in 2004. In common with some other countries, such as the United States, new citizens must swear an “oath of allegiance” to their adopted country, and sing the national anthem. Eventually new applicants may have to pass an English language test, and show that they have a working knowledge of the UK’s history and culture.

Immigration policy is still a hot topic of public debate in the UK, as was demonstrated again during the general election of 2005. Neither of the two largest parties wishes to be seen as anything other than tough when it comes to deciding who is – and who isn’t – allowed to live here.

Seeking refuge

The most urgent type of application for citizenship is made by those who have managed to flee persecution in their native countries. In July 1951, member states of the United Nations agreed a convention on the status of refugees, defining them as those who have "a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion".

It is a responsibility of all signatories to give shelter to such people, should they arrive at a safe haven, and not to return them to jurisdictions where it is inevitable, or highly likely, that they will suffer further persecution. The Convention also outlines the responsibilities of the incoming persons to their host governments, and specifies certain categories of individual, such as war criminals, who are not to be classed as refugees.

Many of those who have applied for asylum in the western democracies since the 1951 Convention was enacted have done so after incurring huge risks, both physical and financial, to get themselves and their families to safety. Most refugees find shelter close to their original homelands, but for some, a long and arduous journey represents their only hope.

Asylum has become a persistent topic of political debate in many European countries in recent years. Governing parties have set themselves the task, as in the UK, of reducing the numbers of claims, and speeding up the ejection of failed claimants. The rules have been made much more stringent (applications are deemed to be bogus if the correct forms have not been filled in immediately upon arrival), and applicants are held in detention centres as a matter of course until their requests have received official consideration.

These measures have led many people wrongly to equate asylum seekers with illegal migrants. The Refugee Council stresses that people escaping persecution are not in any sense normal migrants. They have not chosen to leave their homelands but have been forced to do so, often to save their own lives.