Windrush schemes slide pack (accessible version)
Updated 11 March 2021
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Windrush timeline
April 2018 Windrush Taskforce (now Help Team) established
May 2018 Windrush Scheme launched
April 2019 Windrush Compensation Scheme launched
May 2020 Windrush Lessons Learned Review published
August 2020 National communications campaign launched
September 2020 Comprehensive Improvement Plan published
October 2020 Windrush community ambassadors appointed
December 2020 Windrush Community Fund launched
Windrush Help Team and Claimant Assistance
Windrush Helpline
Freephone 0800 678 1925
Monday to Friday
9am to 5pm
If abroad, email the helpline and request a call back.
The Windrush Helpline can:
- help people to apply for documentation confirming their status, including British citizenship if eligible, under the Windrush Scheme. These applications are free of charge.
- provide trusted help and advice, via the Vulnerable Persons Team, where safeguarding and vulnerability issues are identified
- refer individuals who require assistance completing their compensation claim to the free Claimant Assistance provider
The Windrush Scheme
The Windrush Scheme helps people to access the documentation they need for free.
People who arrived in the UK before the end of 1988, who are now settled, can apply for documentation confirming their status.
Commonwealth citizens settled in the UK before 1973, and their children under certain circumstances, can apply for documentation confirming their status. Those eligible for British citizenship can apply for free, and will not have to take a Life in the UK test or English language qualification.
To qualify for citizenship under the Windrush Scheme you do not have to have remained continuously resident in the UK. Commonwealth citizens that were settled in the UK on 1 January 1973, but who later lived abroad before returning to the UK, may also make a free application for citizenship if eligible.
These ‘returning residents’ no longer need to take a Life in the UK test or English language qualification.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme
Who can claim?
- Commonwealth citizens in the UK who arrived before 1973 and who are lawfully here now
- Commonwealth citizens overseas who settled in the UK before 1973
- A person of any nationality who arrived in the UK before 1988
- Children and grandchildren of Commonwealth citizens in certain circumstances
- Close family members of eligible claimants
- The estates of those who are now deceased but would have been eligible
Categories you may claim under
- immigration fees and associated legal costs
- banking
- health
- housing
- education
- access to employment
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Benefit
- impact on life
- homelessness
- detention
- deportation
- removal or return
- discretionary
Dependant on individual circumstances, individuals may claim under more than one category. The time taken to process each claim will depend on the complexity of individual cases.
What happens with my case
- helpline and claims assistance
- registration and identification
- eligibility determination
- allocation of a named caseworker
- case consideration and further info - preliminary payment (if eligible)
- monthly claim progress update
- offer formulated and sent
- offer acceptance or rejection
- payment or review
Windrush Community Fund
We have opened the £500,000 Windrush Community Fund for applications.
The Fund will support charities, community and/or grassroots organisations to run outreach and promotional activity to raise awareness of the Windrush Scheme and Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Awards will range from a minimum of £2,500 to a maximum of £25,000.
The Fund will run in two phases:
- the closing date for phase 1 applications is 12 February 2021
- phase 2 will open for applications on 1 April 2021 and close on 30 June 2021
See more information on how to apply.
Compensation Scheme Improvements
Impact on life and preliminary payments
We have raised the minimum award from £250 to £10,000 for anyone who can show an impact on their life under the terms of the scheme.
This will be paid as a new early preliminary payment as soon as someone applying on their own behalf, or on behalf of someone who has sadly passed away, can show any impact on their life under the terms of the scheme. They won’t have to wait for their whole application to be assessed.
We have also significantly raised the value of payments at every level in this category with the maximum award increasing from £10,000 to £100,000 (with options for even higher awards in exceptional circumstances).
Loss of access to employment
All awards under this category are now made on the balance of probabilities and we have removed the 12 month cap on general awards.
This means people receiving compensation in this category will be compensated for the actual period they were out of work in all circumstances, and where an individual’s actual salary is unknown a general tariff will be used to calculate their award.
We have also expanded the category criteria so more individuals will be entitled to compensation.
Standard of proof
All categories of claim now operate on the balance of probabilities.
This means our caseworkers must be satisfied it is more likely than not that the losses and impacts being claimed for were incurred.
We no longer use references to ‘satisfied so as to be sure’ and ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Detention
We can now compensate individuals if they spent time in detention pending any type of deportation because they were unable to prove their lawful status and that they were exempt from deportation at the time.
Previously, those who were detained pending automatic deportation could not be compensated under the scheme.
Immigration fees
We will now compensate for fees paid for applications for confirmation of British Nationality status letters if they were unsuccessful because people couldn’t demonstrate their lawful status.
Third party evidence
If evidence to support a claim for compensation can only be obtained from a third party at a cost, we will cover these costs.
Individuals should mention the evidence on their claims forms and we will pay for it if it is needed to support their claim.
If your claim has already been decided, the Compensation Scheme team will be in touch if the changes affect your claim.
If your claim is being processed, the Compensation Scheme team will use the new rules when deciding your claim.
Contact details
Windrush Help Team (freephone): +44 (0) 800 678 1925
Email:
WindrushCompensationScheme@homeoffice.gov.uk
commonwealthtaskforce@homeoffice.gov.uk
Website: www.gov.uk/windrushhelpteam