Make your first call to Windrush Scheme Helpline 0800 678 1925
Check if You are Eligible
If the UK has been your home for a long time but you don’t have a document to prove it, you might be eligible for the Windrush Scheme. This means you could get a document to prove you have the right to live and work in the UK permanently. It’s free to apply. You could be eligible if:
You or your parents arrived in the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973 – check countries in the Commonwealth on GOV.UK
You arrived in the UK from any country before 1989.
If you or your parents are Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973, you might also be eligible for British citizenship from the Windrush Scheme.
You can check if you can apply for compensation on the GOV.UK website. You can also check your eligibility and how to apply on GOV.UK.
Compensation if You Couldn’t Prove Your Right to Live in the UK
You might be able to get compensation if you had problems because you couldn’t prove your right to live in the UK – for example, when you had to show your right to work, rent or claim benefits.
You could also get compensation if the government decided to take action against you – like deporting you or saying you had to leave the country.
If you think you’re eligible, the first thing you should do is contact the Windrush Scheme Helpline and arrange to speak to an adviser.
Before you see the adviser
Start getting together documents you have that prove how long you’ve been in the UK – for example proof of where you’ve lived, studied and worked. Look for any:
Current and previous passports
Letters from the Home Office
Birth and marriage certificates for you and any children born in the UK
School reports and exam certificates
Bills and letters
Employment records – for example old payslips or P45 forms
The older the documents, the better.
Take these along to your appointment and show them to your adviser. The adviser will help you work out what to do next.