Well, in my view, not a lot, actually. I have not lived here all my life. I was born outside the UK to parents of Anglo-Welsh origin, which means that when we came to live here, very little cultural adjustment was necessary.
There isn't lot of room left on this crowded little island (one of the reasons, along with the appalling climate, that I wonder why we appeal so much to immigrants). But I honestly will welcome anyone who abides by these two conditions:
- You are willing to work reasonably hard and to abide by our laws (and not find loop-holes in them).
- You do not shy away from integration.
Let me discuss the last point. I don't mean by that that you have to fully abandon the culture of the country you left, but I would recommend putting aside elements of it that are not compatible with our culture. Let's say, for example, in your culture, a rite of passage for children is ripping out every hair on their head individually. You must desist in this practice when you come to Britain because we would view it as child cruelty. You must also be willing to mix with indigenous Britons and all the minorities that exist here.
It is a two-way thing. We in your adopted homeland (people who were born British and people who chose to be British) have duties towards you, such as protecting you from racist attacks*, but you must not come here expecting special allowances of any kind.
*I mean genuine racism, not just criticism.
3. It's also a requirement to take and pass the 'Life in the UK' test if you're an immigrant and want to be an "official" British citizen
ReplyDeleteI would be very interested as to what the questions are on that test.
ReplyDeleteI remember the BBC News posting an article regarding this test / exam; in addition to the article, it also posted some questions taken from the actual exam.
ReplyDeleteI only know about this because my parents were required to take it. To sum it up, it's basically a multiple choice test on the history and culture of the UK; you need to remember a LOT of facts, many of which are arguable extraneous and useless.
Hi Will!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that the citizenship test is ridiculously hard - the average Brit who's lived here all their life would fail it, apparently.
I don't think any test is necessary to be British. New immigrants just need a bit of understanding and interest in our history/culture and then I think they're fine.
Ceri, hii :D how are your hols going?
ReplyDeleteIt's even harder if English isn't your first language; for many immigrants this is the case.
I agree with you, and although I feel the test is quite unnecessary, at the same time it can also be regarded as something which instills British history / culture into migrants who wish to make the U.K. their home.