CONFIDENTIAL
E.R.
EAST AFRICAN ASIANS AND THE SPECIAL VOUCHER SCHEME
BACKGROUND NOTE
History
1. Many people of Asian origin who are now British Overseas Citizens acquired their status by birth or residence in the former British dependencies in East Africa. Most of them, like Commonwealth citizens generally, became subject to control under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 because they held passports issued in a dependency. When these countries became independent many of the residents of Asian origin automatically acquired citizenship of the new states or did so by registration within the prescribed period. Those who did not qualified for United Kingdom passports instead of the former Colonial passports and became free from immigration control under the Commonwealth. Immigrants Act 1962. From about 1965 the policy adopted by East African governments of the progressive exclusion from employment and trade of persons not holding local citizenship caused more East African Asians with United Kingdom passports to come to the United Kingdom; and because the influx was becoming difficult to absorb, the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 extended the immigration control to citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies who were holders of United Kingdom passports but did not have prescribed connections with this country. (Former citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies subject to immigration control who acquired that citizenship in the way described are now British Overseas Citizens (BOCs).)
The Special Voucher Scheme
2. The Special Voucher Scheme was introduced in 1968 in recognition of the hardship being suffered by heads of household with United Kingdom passports and their dependants who were under pressure to leave their countries of residence in East Africa and had nowhere else to go. Various statements were made in the House of Commons by the then Home Secretary about how the scheme would be administered, but there was no statutory basis for it. The vouchers were 'special' distinguished from the employment vouchers which gave other Commonwealth citizens subject to immigration control a basis of admission, and they were to be issued by the United Kingdom's High Commissioners in East Africa at discretion, on the basis of the perceived circumstances of the individual and prevailing in the country concerned.
3.
From the outset the scheme has applied also to British Protected Persons and British subjects who have an East African connection because these categories of United Kingdom passport holders were not differentiated by the East African governments and were also under pressure to leave.
Eligibility for a Voucher
4.
The essential requirements of the scheme are as follows:
CONFIDENTIAL