Filipinos in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
Filipinos in the United Kingdom are British citizens
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...

 or immigrants who are of Filipino
Overseas Filipino
An Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies both to people of Filipino ancestry who are citizens or residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad on a more temporary status.Most overseas Filipinos migrate to...

 ancestry.

History

The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 only had a small population of Filipinos until the late 20th century. The number started to grow in the 1970s when immigration restrictions on Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 citizens meant that employers had to find workers from other countries. The National Health Service (NHS)
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...

, hotel and catering industry and clothing manufacturers started to recruit Filipinos,. According to the UK Department of Employment, 20,226 work permits were issued to Filipinos between 1968 and 1980. Some 47% of the work permits were issued for those who came to work in hospitals and welfare homes as hospital auxiliaries, catering workers and to nurse-trainees. The second biggest category of work permits were for chambermaids, followed by catering and waitering staff. The NHS started to recruit more Filipino nurses in the 1990s to make up a shortfall in local recruitment. A large number of Filipinos have also arrived as caregivers and work in public and private nursing homes.

Population

The 2001 UK Census recorded 40,118 people born in the Philippines. The Office for National Statistics
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

 estimates that, in 2009, the equivalent figure was 112,000.

According to the Manila Times, there were approximately 200,000 Filipinos living in the United Kingdom as of 2007. In 2007, 10,840 Filipinos gained British citizenship, the second largest number of any nation after India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, compared to only 1,385 in 2001.

Distribution

The largest Filipino community in the United Kingdom is in and around London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, based around Earl's Court. Other towns and cities with significant Filipino communities include Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 and Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

, which is home to an extremely successful Filipino community, as well as being the country's largest for a town of its size. Fiestas
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

 are held during July and August in various cities throughout the UK.

Economics

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research
Institute for Public Policy Research
The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...

, 85.4 per cent of new immigrant Filipinos to the UK of working age are employed (as opposed to inactive - a category which includes students - or unemployed), with 12.8% being low earners (people making less than £149.20 a week – half the UK median wage) and 0.61 per cent are high earners (people earning more than £750 a week). 77.91 per cent of settled Filipino immigrants to the UK are employed, with 15.38 per cent being low earners and 1.28 per cent being high earners.

Community groups

Filipino community groups in the UK include: The Centre for Filipinos, a Filipino advocacy and outreach charity; Lahing Kayumanggi dance company focusing on traditional Filipino dance; EA Doce Pares, an Eskrima/Arnis school promoting and educating the community on the Philippine warrior arts and culture; Phil-UK, a group for young and second-generation Filipinos in the UK; Philippine Generations, a Second Generation led not for profit Organisation promoting the Philippines, its people and culture in the UK; The Philippine Centre, a charity promoting culture and community spirit. a One Filipino is a group supporting local Filipino organisations in the United Kingdom and also to promote the campaign towards good governance and Filipino empowerment.

The 'Barrio Fiesta sa London', a two-day festival held in Lampton Park, West London, is perhaps the best known and largest gathering for the community in the UK. It is organised and run by The Philippine Centre but draws Filipino community groups and businesses from all over the UK. After the 2009 Barrio Fiesta in July, it will have been running for 25 years.

External links

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