In 2022, new legislation expanded eligibility for British citizenship to all direct descendants of Chagossians, meaning that many British-Chagossians can now settle in the UK. Information on this application route can be found on the government website.
This briefing is designed for individuals and organisations supporting newly arrived British-Chagossian households in Greater Manchester (GM) and includes:
1. A short political context of the Chagos islands
2. Chagossian Identity and Culture
3. Households in Greater Manchester
4. The immigration status of British-Chagossian households
5. Public funds eligibility for Chagossian households
A short political context of the Chagos islands
The Chagos archipelago is made up of more than 60 islands, located in the central Indian ocean. In the 1960s, the UK government separated the Chagos Archipelago from colonial Mauritius, forming the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Between
1965 and 1973, Chagossians were forcibly removed from all the inhabited Chagos islands to allow the establishment of a US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands.1 By 1973, the entire population (approximately 1,500–2,000
residents) had been displaced, mostly to Mauritius and the Seychelles.