England Emigration and Immigration

Online Resources

 * Immigrant Ancestors Project
 * British & Irish Roots Collection, FindMyPast ($) - contains records that identify British or Irish emigrants throughout the world
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose England under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
 * 1573-1677 Britain, Registers Of Licences To Pass Beyond The Seas 1573-1677 at FindMyPast - index and images ($)
 * 1787-1933 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
 * 1890-1960 UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast, index & images ($)
 * 1946-1971 Free Access: Africa, Asia and Europe, Passenger Lists of Displaced Persons, 1946-1971 Ancestry, free. Index and images. Passenger lists of immigrants leaving Germany and other European ports and airports between 1946-1971. The majority of the immigrants listed in this collection are displaced persons - Holocaust survivors, former concentration camp inmates and Nazi forced laborers, as well as refugees from Central and Eastern European countries and some non-European countries.

Immigration into England

 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose England under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
 * 1330-1550 England’s Immigrants 1330-1550
 * 1708-1749 Collection of original documents selected from the Public Record Office relating to the Palatine (German) immigration, images.
 * 1709 The German exodus to England in 1709, images.
 * 1794-1921 UK, Aliens Entry Books, 1794-1921 at Ancestry ($), images only.
 * 1810-1811, 1826-1869 England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869 at Ancestry, index ($)
 * 1858-1870 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images.This index was created from data compiled by James P. Maher, as Returning home : transatlantic migration from North America to Britain & Ireland 1858-1870.
 * 1878-1960 UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1918-1957 Aliens’ registration cards 1918-1957 at UK National Archives
 * 1939-1945 UK, World War II Alien Internees, 1939-1945, at Ancestry, ($), index and images.

Crew Lists

 * 1850-1927 UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927 at Ancestry ($)
 * 1861-1919 Liverpool, England, Crew Lists 1861-1919 at Ancestry, index & images ($)

Passports and Citizenship

 * 1851-1903 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
 * 1860-1893 Registros de la Embajada de España en Londres, Inglaterra (Passports, Spanish Embassy London, images.
 * 1870-1916 UK, Naturalisation Certificates and Declarations, 1870-1916 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1891-1922 Registros del Consulado de España en Liverpool, Inglaterra (Passports, Spanish Embassy Liverpool, images.

English Emigrants to America

 * Immigrants to America appearing in English records, e-book.
 * Fifty great migration colonists to New England & their origins, e-book.
 * Some emigrants to Virginia : memoranda in regard to several hundred emigrants to Virginia during the colonial period whose parentage is shown or former residence indicated by authentic records, e-book.
 * Twenty-six great migration colonists to New England & their origins, e-book.
 * Emigrant ministers to the Americas at FindMyPast, index & images ($)
 * 1600s-1700s Notes on English Quakers in Pennsylvania, late 17th & early 18th centuries, images.
 * 1614-1775 Emigrants in Bondage, 1614-1775 at Ancestry, index & images ($)
 * 1620-21 The Mayflower and her log, July 15, 1620 - May 6, 1621 : chiefly from original sources, e-book.
 * 1620-1635 New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * -1646 English university men who emigrated to New England before 1646: history of Harvard College in the seventeenth century, e-book.
 * 1654-1679 Servants to foreign plantations, 1654-1679, images.
 * 1682-1692, 1718-1759 A List of Emigrants from England to America, 1682-1692, 1718-1759, at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1683-1686 Some early English emigrants to America, 1683-1686, images.
 * 1690-1811 A list of emigrant ministers to America 1690-1811, e-book.
 * 1763-1773 Immigrants from Great Britain to South Carolina, 1763-1773, images.
 * 1774-1775 Records of emigrants from England and Scotland to North Carolina, 1774-1775, images.
 * 1790-1950 British immigrants in industrial America, 1790-1950, images and index.
 * 1892-1924 New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924 Search results for England

Offices and Archives to Contact
The National Archives Ruskin Avenue, Kew Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU England Website Guide: Immigration and Immigrants This office collects records of the British government (such as parliamentary papers) and law courts from 1086 to the present. It is in England but has many Scottish records. You need a reader’s ticket to use its collection.

Finding the Town of Origin in England
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in England, see England Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Immigration and Emigration

 * Emigration records are records of people leaving England. Immigration records are records of people entering England.
 * Passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, records of passports issued, lists of transported prisoners, or registers of assistance to emigrate often contain genealogical information.
 * These records may contain the name, age, occupation, destination, place of origin or birthplace, ship, and date of arrival. Names of fellow passengers may help construct family groups or provide hints on place of origin or destination.

Immigration to England

 * Until after the Second World War, most people immigrating to England came primarily from continental Europe. Specific immigrant groups include refugees from wars (such as the French Revolution) or from religious persecution (such as Huguenots and Jews).
 * No regular series of arrival records exists before 1836. If your ancestor immigrated to England before 1836, search naturalization and citizenship records. (See "Naturalization and Citizenship".
 * Beginning in 1836, certificates exist for aliens. These are arranged by port, and give the individual’s name, nationality, profession, date arrived, country last visited, and signature.
 * Starting in 1878, there are lists of incoming passengers which give the passenger’s name, birthplace, last residence, and sometimes an address of a relative in the country of origin. However, passengers from Europe or the Mediterranean did not have to be listed. All of these immigration records are at the National Archives in London.
 * Movements within the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Channel Islands) and to England’s colonies required no documents.

Emigration

 * Beginning in 1606, people emigrated from England to countries such as the United States, India, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. *Emigration increased after 1815, when it became a means of poor relief.
 * Emigration also increased during gold rushes in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.
 * Emigration from England peaked in the 1880s.
 * There was no systematic, official method of emigrating from England. The following types of emigrants account for most persons who left England:
 * Free emigrants. Beginning in 1606 emigrants left England to promote trade or set up military outposts and way stations for merchant ships. Later free emigrants sought opportunities in a new land or fled poverty or oppression in England.
 * Assisted emigrants. From 1815 to 1900, qualified emigrants received passage money or land grants in the destination country as an alternative to receiving poor relief.
 * Transported prisoners. From 1611 to 1870, more than 200,000 criminals were conditionally pardoned, exiled, and transported to penal colonies. Before 1775, more than 50,000 prisoners were sent to America—primarily to Virginia and Maryland. From 1788 to 1869, more than 160,000 prisoners were sent to Australia.
 * Military personnel. Upon discharge, soldiers serving overseas were offered land or other inducements to settle in the colony where they were serving. This was common practice in Australia from 1791, Canada from 1815, and New Zealand from 1844.
 * Latter-day Saints. About 1840, converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emigrated to the United States. Most settled in Utah. For further information, see Latter-day Saint Online Genealogy Records.

Records of English Emigrants in Their Destination Nations

 * United States Emigration and Immigration
 * Canada Emigration and Immigration
 * India Emigration and Immigration
 * Australia Emigration and Immigration
 * South Africa Emigration and Immigration
 * New Zealand Emigration and Immigration

For Further Reading
There are additional sources listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:

-