Immigrant’s fight to get back into UK

A Windrush immigrant who arrived as an 11- year-boy in 1967 has told of his £3,000 legal fight to stay in Britain.

Paul Cudjoe, 62, has lived in Dundee for nearly four decades, the city where he met his wife Frances and brought up his two children.

But when they went on a Caribbean cruise toce lebrate their wedding anniversary eight years ago, he was shocked that immigration officials almost refused him entry back into the UK.

Mr Cudjoe, originally from Grenada, was forced to hire immigration lawyers and spent more than £ 3,000 proving he had the right to stay in the UK. He obtained the documentation he needed last year.

He said: “It is shocking this is happening. I have been working here and my family is here. This is my home.”

The UK government has faced criticism over the plight of many people from the Commonwealth who were invited to Britain as citizens following the Second World War to help rebuild the country.

Under the 1971 Immigration Act, Commonwealth citizens already living in the UK were given in definite leave to remain. But many are now struggling to prove they are here legally after a tightening of immigration rules in recent years.

Mr Cudjoe did not have any problems leaving the country when he went on the cruise in 2010 – the first time he had travelled abroad since arriving in the UK as a child.

However, when he arrived back in Manchester, immigration officials told him his Grenadian passport did not have the necessary “stamp” to prove he had the right to stay in the UK.

He said: “My wife started crying. She thought they were going to de port me. It was a huge shock.”

He was let in after giving officials his National Insurance number. He then had to start a long process to try to prove he had the right to stay in the country, but he said he could not get through to immigration officials.

The Home Office said details of a compensation scheme for those who have suffered financial loss will be set out in the coming weeks.