At the end of the Second World War (1939 - 1945), there was the huge task of rebuilding Britain. There were not enough people to do the work, so the British government encouraged workers from Ireland and other parts of Europe to come to the UK to help with the reconstruction. In 1948, people from the West Indies were also invited to come and work.
During the 1950s, there was still a shortage of labour in the UK. The UK encouraged immigration in the 1950s for economic reasons and many industries advertised for workers from overseas. For example, centres were set up in the West Indies to recruit people to drive buses. Textile and engineering firms from the north of England and the Midlands sent agents to India and Pakistan to find workers. For about 25 years, people from the West Indies, India, Pakistan, and later Bangladesh, traveled to work and settle in Britain.
The number of people migrating from these areas fell in the late 1960s because the government passed new laws to restrict immigration to Britain, although immigrants from 'old' Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada did not have to face such strict controls. During this time, however, Britain did admit 28,000 people of Indian origin who had been forced to leave Uganda and 22,000 refugees from South East Asia.
In the 1980s the largest immigrant groups came from the United States, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. In the early 199s, groups of people from the former Soviet Union came to Britain looking for a new and safer way of life. Since 1994 there has been a global rise in mass migration for both political and economic reasons.
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This material is based on the "Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship" handbook and is produced with the permission of Her Majesty's Stationary Office (HMSO) copyright unit. No part of this material may be copied or reproduced without the permission of HMSO copyright unit. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence.