Carmen bryan and the commonwealth immigrants act 1962. The goal of this act like the 1962 act was to limit immigration but this one was created to limit migrants of nonwhite people into britain such as afrocaribbeans, muslims, pakistani, etc. Statement of stephen lamb, senior caseworker in work permits uk, at immigration advisory service conference at city university, 2 july 2003. This article is within the scope of wikiproject law, an attempt at providing a comprehensive, standardised, panjurisdictional and uptodate resource for the legal field and the subjects encompassed by it. This thesis examines discussions within the british government held about immigration from the commonwealth in the period between 1948 and 1964 and clarifies the role the government actors played. For instance, in the sparsely populated frontier area of san tin in hong kong, 8590 percent of the ablebodied males left for the united kingdom between 1955 and 1962 to work in british factories, foundries, railways, buses, hotels, and restaurants. The effect of the commonwealth immigrants act the longrun upward trend in cypriot migration came to an abrupt end in 1962, the year in which the british government first imposed controls on immigration from commonwealth countries. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 was an act of the parliament of the united kingdom background. Stub this article has been rated as stubclass on the projects quality scale.
Access to society journal content varies across our titles. Britishpoliticsandthepost0wardevelopmentofhumanrights benjaminjones,pembrokecollege dphil,michaelmasterm20. The commonwealth immigrants act of 1962, which removed the right of automatic entry for commonwealth citizens, restricting it to those who had a work voucher. Legislation was passed to restrict the number of commonwealth immigrants to britain. The lancet special articles commonwealth medical immigrants oscar gish b. This article shows that immigration from cyprus had already.
The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 and immigration act 1971 largely restricted any. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 and immigration act 1971 largely restricted any further primary immigration, although family members of alreadysettled migrants were still allowed. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 was an act of the parliament of the united kingdom before the act was passed, citizens of british commonwealth countries had extensive rights to migrate to the uk. At the same time, however, the commonwealth franchise act 1902 deliberately excluded any aboriginal native of australia, asia, africa or the islands of the pacific except new zealand from voting. The introduction of the commonwealth immigrants act of 1962 is an important event in british postwar history so that the political developments leading to the act have been well researched. Pdf the kenyan asians, british politics, and the commonwealth. Since the act was publicly announced around the country, before it was passed, many migrants took advantage of their last chance of entering the country easily before the restrictions came into force.
The act amended the commonwealth immigrants act 1962, further reducing rights of citizens of the commonwealth of nations countries as of 2010, comprising approximately 1. Commonwealth immigrants act, 1962 cia 1962 the home secretary r. British pakistani community simple english wikipedia, the. Commonwealth immigration came under systematic control under the commonwealth immigrants act, 1962.
Commonwealth immigrants act 1968 this act took effect from 2 march 1968. This item of legislation is only available to download and view as pdf. The kenyan asians, british politics, and the commonwealth immigrants act, 1968. Citizenship and nationality in britain springerlink. Before the act was passed, citizens of british commonwealth countries had extensive rights to migrate to the uk. Parallels and differences between ending commonwealth and eu. The kenyan asians, british politics, and the commonwealth immigrants act, 1968 article pdf available in the historical journal 4203.
Taking as its case study the passage of what became the 1962 commonwealth immigrants act, the article considers the level of influence that should be attributed to these committees, and whether or not they should be considered as significant fora of power and influence. The act was amended by the commonwealth immigrants act 1968 and was superseded by another new act, immigration act 1971, which came into force in 1971. In response to a perceived heavy influx of immigrants, the conservative party government tightened the regulations, permitting only those with governmentissued employment vouchers, limited in. This act was strengthened by the commonwealth immigrants act, 1968 and largely replaced by the immigration act, 1971. View or download all content the institution has subscribed to. In the last decade we have witnessed a tremendous revival of interest in the concept of citizenship. Commonwealth franchise act 1902 meant that women gained the right to vote and stand for election to parliament. These two events could not have taken place under more different levels of secrecy. By 1968, the commonwealth immigrants act limited automatic entry to the uk to those citizens of the uk and colonies with what were euphemistically called patrial ties. Pdf birmingham city on this day download full pdf book. Boston, how the immigrants act was passed, new society no. This controlled the immigration of all commonwealth passport holders except those. In 1962, the commonwealth immigrants act hastened the process of south asian migration to postcolonial britain. Before the act was passed, citizens of commonwealth countries had extensive rights to migrate to the uk.
Nationality act 1948 to the commonwealth immigrants act 1962. The kenyan asians, british politics, and the commonwealth. Hansard 18032005 acts c commonwealth immigrants act 1962 3 other acts called commonwealth immigrants act section mentions house date. The 1971 immigration act constitutes the most important piece of. This act was an amendment to the commonwealth immigrants act of 1962. The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. However, previous works on this topic have emphasised the role played by parliament, political parties and politicians in the policy process, while they. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 was an act of the parliament of the united kingdom. For instance, in the sparsely populated frontier area of san tin in hong kong, 8590 percent of the ablebodied males left for the united kingdom between 1955 and 1962 to work in british. Half a decade later, now is an opportune moment to revisit the accumulated writing about the diasporas formed through subsequent settlement, and to probe the ways in which the south asian diaspora can be reconceptualised. In 1960, the home secretary, richard rab butler, pressed for legislation, and the cabinet appointed a committee. In 1965, the hurdles imposed by the 1962 act were raised further by a labour government white paper intent on an even more selective process. These policies began with the immigration act of 1962 commonwealth immigrants act 1962 which liberal and labour parties failed to avert.
The decade between the passing of the 1948 british nationality act and the 1962 commonwealth immigrants act constitutes a critical period in the politics of citizenship in postwar britain. This policy resulted in an increased urgency to get to britain and an increase in the number of migrants entering the uk before the new law came into effect. This article shows that immigration from cyprus had already come under control prior to the second world war. The people have no more love left for the commonwealth. Commonwealth immigrants act 1968 commonwealth immigrants act 1968 hepple, b. The control of cypriot migration to britain between the wars. The year after also brought a further fall in the number of cypriot migrants again the number being more than. Rawlyk canadas immigration policy, 1945 1962 it can be effectively argued that the primary concern of any nation is to ensure its own survival. The hague research fellow, science policy research unit, university of sussex, brighton bn1 9qn in june and july, 1968, as a result of recent changes in the commonwealth immigrants act, the number of commonwealth doctors who received immigration vouchers increased by more than half.
Commonwealth immigration control and legislation the national. The second immigration act to be passed was the commonwealth immigrants act of 1968. Butler oversaw the production of the bill that became the commonwealth immigration act of 1962. Uk immigration law affecting commonwealth citizens who. The passage of the 1962 commonwealth immigrants act, a case. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962, and then the commonwealth immigrants act 1968, restricted the right of entry of, and imposed immigration controls on, certain classes of commonwealth citizens, including citizens of the united kingdom and colonies, who did not have close links to britain.
Family history research timeline events on the migration timeline. This article is within the scope of wikiproject politics of the united kingdom, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of politics of the united kingdom on wikipedia. The control of cypriot migration to britain between the. The british nationality act, 1981, completely revised the definition of british nationality, introducing three classes of citizenship with the right to live in britain. Carmen bryan and the commonwealth immigrants act 1962 12th january 20 marjorie morgan 3 comments as an insight to the 1960s was a period of rapid social, political and moral change i have written about a case that changed the political landscape of 1960s britain. The commonwealth immigrants act 1962 ended the right of entry for commonwealth citizens. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. But race riots in nottingham and london led the conservative government under harold macmillan to introduce the. The british nationality act, 1981, completely revised the definition of british nationality, introducing three classes of. The passage of the 1962 commonwealth immigrants act, a. Open epub for commonwealth immigrants act, 1962 10. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. Nov 01, 2007 in 1965, the hurdles imposed by the 1962 act were raised further by a labour government white paper intent on an even more selective process. British pakistani community simple english wikipedia.
The role of criminal law and punishment in british immigration controls. The role of civil servants in the formulation of policy. Immigration represented a key issue for the conservative party during the 1960s, a period when the parliamentary committee system gave backbench members a path to significant prestige and. This controlled the immigration of all commonwealth passport. Commonwealth immigrants act 1962 project gutenberg self. List of mentions of the commonwealth immigrants act 1962 in parliament in the period 1803 to 2005. An act to amend sections 1 and 2 of the commonwealth immigrants act 1962, and schedule 1 to that act, and to make further provision as to commonwealth citizens landing in the united kingdom, the channel islands or the isle of man. In political science, michael moran 1989 has argued that citizenship seems to have overtaken class, market and even democracy as the key concept of the discipline. They were still british subjects under the british nationality. Butler sold the bill to the commons on the basis that it was a temporary measure and would give an immigration officer the power to apply on a selective basis to commonwealth citizens who. The hague research fellow, science policy research unit, university of sussex, brighton bn1 9qn in june and july, 1968, as a result of recent changes in the commonwealth immigrants act, the number of commonwealth doctors who received immigration vouchers increased. Thus, while the more inclusive and racially inflected postwar definition of british citizenship developed through the 1948 british nationality act and the commonwealth immigrants act 1962 marked a decisive shift in british domestic politics, it fit within a longer lineage of racially demarcated imperial citizenship politics.
930 114 479 1356 50 617 1089 529 268 715 445 1129 1514 862 613 1250 1372 544 692 1113 1450 239 920 770 525 467 322 649 631 669 1147 674