British Prime Minister Theresa May met representatives from 12 Caribbean Commonwealth states on Tuesday. Those attending included senior representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the meeting, May apologised for any anxiety caused, and explained how much the UK valued the contribution made by members of the Windrush Generation. She said, “Those who arrived from the Caribbean before 1973 and lived here permanently without significant periods of time away in the last 30 years have the right to remain in the UK, as do the vast majority of long-term residents who arrived later. I don’t want anybody to be in any doubt about their right to remain here in the United Kingdom.” The Windrush generation refers to the thousands of people who arrived in the UK as children in the first wave of Commonwealth immigration 70 years ago, often on their parents’ passports. They are known as the Windrush generation in reference to the ship, the Empire Windrush, which brought workers from the West Indies to Britain in 1948. Under the 1971 Immigration Act, all Commonwealth citizens already living in the UK were given indefinite leave to remain. However, the immigration process before that time was poorly documented and the Home Office did not keep accurate records or issue paperwork to those with the right to remain in the UK. This resulted in people who came to the UK legally as children now losing their jobs, being denied NHS treatment and potentially being sent back to the Caribbean. The prime minister went on to say that she wanted to “dispel any impression that my government is in some sense clamping down on Commonwealth citizens, particularly those from the Caribbean who have built a life here”. The UK government said it is committed to supporting Commonwealth citizens who have a right to live in the UK. A new dedicated team will be set up within the Home Office for people who need support gathering evidence of their right to be in the UK. It will contain a dedicated contact point, and will aim to resolve cases within two weeks, once all the evidence has been put together. No one affected will be charged for the documentation that proves their right. In 2010, the Home Office destroyed thousands of landing card slips recording Windrush immigrants’ arrival dates in the UK, despite staff warnings that the move would make it harder to check the records of older Caribbean-born residents experiencing residency difficulties. A dedicated phone line (0300 123 2241) has also been created and the Home Office has published a fact sheet on their web site, which outlines the rights of Commonwealth citizens. https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2018/04/12/factsheet-on-the-rights-of-commonwealth-citizens/ Source: Caribbean News Now