Commonwealth citizens arriving before 1971

UPDATED: 5 June 2019 to include country of origin breakdown from Census data

 

 

Commonwealth migrants arriving before 1971, England and Wales, 2011 Census

Passport held	Number	Percent
Holds UK passport	541,616	90%
Does not hold UK passport, of which:	57,462	10%
- Commonwealth passport	34,447	6%
- No passport	21,053	4%
- Other non-UK passport	1,962	0.3%
Total	599,078	100%

Source: Office of National Statistics, table CT0801_2011

Note: Figures are for England and Wales only. The Census 2011 figures differ from analysis based on the Labour Force Survey (see below) in various ways. First, Census collected information on passports held (i.e. the physical document) rather than self-reported nationality. This enables a distinction between people with a UK or non-UK passport vs. those with no passport at all. People with no passport could be either UK or non-UK citizens.

Note that the figures do not directly indicate the number of people who cannot document their legal status in the UK. People without passports may have other proof such as immigration status documents or certificates of naturalisation.

Census figures are a count of the population rather than an estimate based on survey data, and so are more accurate. They also include people who are excluded from the LFS, such as people living in communal establishments.

Commonwealth migrants who arrived in the UK before 1971, by place of birth and passports held

Census 2011	Number of respondents in 2011 Census						As a percentage of those with…
	UK passport	Non-UK passport	No passport	Total			UK passport	Non-UK passport	No passport	Total
All Commonwealth countries	541,616	36,409	21,053	599,078		All Commonwealth countries	100%	100%	100%	100%
Americas and Caribbean	149,338	10,163	7,529	167,030		Americas and Caribbean	28%	28%	36%	28%
Africa	102,567	2,479	2,753	107,799		Africa	19%	7%	13%	18%
Asia, Oceania, Antarctica	273,526	21,775	9,228	304,529		Asia, Oceania, Antarctica	51%	60%	44%	51%
EU	15,010	1,982	1,532	18,524		EU	3%	5%	7%	3%
Other Europe	1,175	10	11	1,196		Other Europe	0%	0%	0%	0%
Selected Commonwealth countries of birth, arrived 1931-1970	UK passport	Non-UK passport	No passport	Total		Selected Commonwealth countries of birth, arrived 1931-1970	UK passport	Non-UK passport	No passport	Total
India	141,620	14,607	4,082	160,309		India	26%	40%	19%	27%
Jamaica	79,436	4,185	3,345	86,966		Jamaica	15%	11%	16%	15%
Pakistan	67,175	1,243	527	68,945		Pakistan	12%	3%	3%	12%
Kenya	41,473	152	561	42,186		Kenya	8%	0%	3%	7%
Singapore	16,404	350	1,265	18,019		Singapore	3%	1%	6%	3%
Malta	14,823	1,982	1,457	18,262		Malta	3%	5%	7%	3%
South Africa	14,240	492	1,060	15,792		South Africa	3%	1%	5%	3%
Bangladesh	12,475	707	58	13,240		Bangladesh	2%	2%	0%	2%
Barbados	12,325	961	440	13,726		Barbados	2%	3%	2%	2%
Canada	11,475	3,247	1,897	16,619		Canada	2%	9%	9%	3%
Others	130,170	8,483	6,361	145,014		Others	24%	23%	30%	24%
Total	541,616	36,409	21,053	599,078		Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

Source: Migration Observatory analysis of ONS Census data, tables CT0801, CT0800 and CT0814. Note: Not all Commonwealth countries have individual country-level data publicly available in these tables and individual-level data excludes anyone arriving before 1931. Data are for usual residents on 27th March 2011. 'No passport held' category counts the number of usual residents who did not hold a passport on Census day. This does not necessarily mean that they have never held a passport.