India Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

 * 1810-1811, 1826-1869 England, Alien Arrivals, 1810-1811, 1826-1869 at Ancestry ($), index and images.
 * 1807-1812 List of passengers proceeding from St. Helena to England, 1807-1812 at FamilySearch Catalog; images only. Includes passengers passing through St. Helena from India and China to England.
 * 1860-1872 Indian immigration into Natal, 1860-1872 at FamilySearch Catalog; index & images
 * 1878-1960 UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 at Ancestry ($), index.
 * 1879-1916 Indian immigration passes, 1879-1916 at FamilySearch Catalog; images only
 * 1879-1919 Plantation register of Indian immigrants, 1879-1919 at FamilySearch Catalog; images only
 * 1879-1916 Indian emigration to Fiji 1879-1916
 * 1879-1916 Indian Indentured Labour, 1879 – 1916 The introduction Indian Indentured Labour was an important chapter in Fiji’s development. . Over a period of 37 years (1875 – 1916), 87 ships brought over 60,538 labourers to work on local plantations.
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($)
 * 1899-1922 Register of deaths of Indian immigration (by plantation), 1899-1922 at FamilySearch Catalog; index & images
 * 1904-1914 Germany, Bremen Passenger Departure Lists, 1904-1914 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of India
 * Families in British India Society database

Offices and Archives to Contact
Asian and African Studies enquiries The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7873 Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7641
 * India Office Family History Search
 * Collection Guide: India Office Records and Private Papers: family history

They offer a remote Ecclesiastical Search Service and Certified Copies for enquirers who cannot find required information on this database, and those who are unable to visit our reading room. Use this website to search: The information included in the India Office Family History Search website is taken from a card index hitherto available only at the British Library. The card index was compiled by members of staff at the India Office Records from the mid-1970s onwards to meet the growing interest in genealogy. Users should note that probably less than 10% of the biographical sources available in the India Office Records was incorporated into the index, although future additions to this website are planned. As the biographical information included in this website is only a small part of the total available in the archives, users may need to search elsewhere in the records – see India Office Records: Family History Sources.
 * 300,000 births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials in the India Office Records
 * biographical notes from a variety of sources
 * for mainly British and European people in India c.1600-1949
 * for people in other countries connected with the history of the British in India

India Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Passenger Lists
At the back of the Bombay Calendar and Almanac and the Madras Almanac, there are lists of shipping departures from India to various ports in England. The lists include the name of the British passengers and notes the presence of a native servant. However, they do not usually give the name of the servant. Occasionally free native passengers may be named.

Publlished lists of passages to and from India are also included in the Bengal Directory of 1815-59, the Madras Almanac 1811-61, and the Bombay Directory 1817-56. The British National Archives holds some of these printed works, and the complete set can be consulted at the British Library. A register of deposits on account of native servants is held at the British Library, India Office Records under reference L/MAR/C888.

Passport Records
Duplicate identity certificates of natives of India proceeding to Europe 1900-17 (when their issue ceased) and duplicate passports from 1907 were sent to the British Library, India Office. Identity certificates 1900-1917 and passports for 1907-15 are at the British Library under reference L/P and J6. The duplicate passports for 1916-31 appear to have been destroyed.

Asian Immigration 1948 to 1962
Between 1948 and 1962, workers from British colonies could migrate to England without restriction. The immigrants from India can be traced through passenger lists. However, some immigrated to Great Britain and then quickly returned to India. Some examples are: Students who had completed their education, ayahs (nannies), servants, and nurses after their time of service.

Under the British nationality Act of 1948 and until 1962, every Commonwealth citizen was entitled to enter Great Britain at will. Citizens of British colonies or British protectorates could simply apply to the Home Office for registration of British nationality and were issued certificates. This right had been freely exercised for many years, but it was only in the ten years from 1952 onward that substantial numbers of people from the Commonwealth began to think of settling in England.

Post-1962 Immigration
Some case files of the Immigration Appellate Authorities are held at Kew in Lord Chancellor's Department record series LCO 42 (1971-97). There are 875 files, most of them subject to closure periods ranging from 30 to as much as 75 years. Many of the files contain photographs.

A Commonwealth citizen who wanted to work and settle in the United Kingdom had to obtain a Ministry of Labour Voucher, which was issued under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 and 1969. The vouchers were issued in three categories:


 * Category A for applications by employers in this country who had a specific job to offer to the particular Commonwealth citizen
 * Category B for applications by Commonwealth citizens without a specific job to come to but with certain special qualifications (such as nurses, teachers, and doctors)
 * Category C for all others

Applications for Employment Vouchers are in record series LAB 42. The series consists of vouchers that were not used, canceled or rejected, and the reasons given for the ruling under the Commonwealth Immigrants Acts of 1962 and 1968. Normally they contain:


 * Original letters from the applicant to the Ministry of Labour
 * Correspondence from the Department of Employment to the applicant


 * Original application forms, which contain name of the applicant, date of birth, occupation, number of passport, special qualifications, and details about previous service in the armed forces
 * Photographs of the applicant

The applications sometimes used the original voucher and are an excellent source for family historians.