Deon P. Green, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. - Reuters

Many Jamaican and other Caribbean nationals living in Britain who are seeking to obtain British citizenship could be hit with more restrictions. Chancellor Gordon Brown, the man tipped to be Britian's next prime minister, wants migrants to do community work as part of their orientation to British lifestyle and society.

Along with individual fees, indefinite leave to remain, a citizenship test and naturalisation, before swearing allegiance to the Queen, the chancellor believes the process of becoming a British citizen needs more focus and this could be achieved through community work as an additional component. The move comes against an earlier call for all nationals arriving in Britain who do not have English as their first language to learn the language, and for the United Kingdom to have its own day to celebrate its national identity.

Community work

The chancellor has said that obliging migrants to carry out community work would help introduce them to the people they will be living alongside and it would also demonstrate to the host community that new immigrants would contribute to society as a whole. Some critics have said that the initiative would act as a disincentive to those who were uncommitted or who lacked the necessary skills and could lead to more illegal immigrants in the U.K.

In a response to the chancellor's comments, Sylbourne Sydial, founder and director of Facilitators for A Better Jamaica (FFBJ), a think tank lobby group said what is happening in Britain is a quest to stigmatise immigrants who have contributed significantly to building the country.

The independent lobby group questioned whether the purpose of the proposed community work programme, would be to concentrate on members of the black minority and ethnic community as well as the influx of the new Europeans. He argued that the new members of the European Union have no idea of race relations and the British community, and yet they are automatically assimilated into the society.

Sydial added that there was a great deal of pressure now on immigrants, especially members of the Jamaican community, to integrate, but with barriers and little encouragement to do such. He told The Sunday Gleaner that the situation was worse, as of April, those seeking indefinite leave to remain in Britain will have to do a citizenship test at a cost. "We are not even talking about going for your citizenship yet; we are not even talking about changes that will impact negatively on some professionals in the U.K. from the Commonwealth by new Home Office regulations ... The list is endless and the pressure is on the black community. This must stop," he said.