Immigration: Windrush Generation

(asked on 9th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to identify how many people who belong to the Windrush generation have been wrongly prevented from re-entry to the UK after an overseas visit.


Answered by
Priti Patel Portrait
Priti Patel
This question was answered on 4th August 2020

The Home Office is undertaking a significant programme of engagement and communication activity to raise awareness of the support available to members of the Windrush generation who have been impacted, including those who have been wrongly prevented from re-entry to the UK after an overseas visit.

We have hosted over 100 engagement and outreach events across the country and are undertaking a programme of online engagement events. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/windrush-engagement-events. We will shortly be launching a national advertising and grassroots campaign to encourage more people to come forward and have worked closely with a range of stakeholders with excellent community links to raise awareness. We are also developing plans with our British Embassies and High Commissions for additional bespoke activity in priority countries overseas.

Unfortunately, the Home Office does not hold data on the number of people who belong to the Windrush generation who have been prevented from re-entry to the UK after an overseas visit. However, the Department has conducted a historical review of Caribbean Commonwealth nationals, born before 1 January 1973, removed or detained since 2002, to identify those whose records indicate they came to the UK before 1973. The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August 2018 with the initial findings of this review and has provided regular updates to the committee. This correspondence can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush

Anyone who is a member of the Windrush generation and thinks they have been wrongly denied re-entry to the UK can apply to the Windrush Taskforce for a returning residents visa, and to the Windrush Compensation Scheme for compensation, should they wish to.

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