British Bhutanese are people of
Bhutanese ancestry who are citizens of the
United Kingdom or resident in the country. This includes people born in the UK who are of Bhutanese descent, and
Bhutan-born people who have migrated to the UK.
Background
According to the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, around 350
Bhutanese refugees settled in the United Kingdom in 2007. The resettlement was carried out under the
Gateway Protection Programme.
The European Resettlement Network, which is co-coordinated between the
International Organization for Migration, the UNHCR, and
International Catholic Migration Commission
The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) is an international organization that serves and protects uprooted people, including migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationalit ...
, has produced data which suggests this has mainly been from asylum centers in
Nepal. Countries such as the
United States and
Canada have also welcomed many Bhutanese immigrants, alongside the UK.
History
In August 2010, the first known Bhutanese people to emigrate to the United Kingdom arrived in the country. The resettlement came after the
UK Border Agency sent an interviewing team to the refugee centres of
Nepal, including the
Beldangi,
Goldhap
Goldhap is a village development committee in Jhapa District in the Province No. 1 of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census
The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of St ...
,
Khudunabari,
Sanischare and
Timai camps. In May 2013, a group of Bhutanese British residents, who had successfully settled in the UK, presented a talk at
SOAS University of London, detailing the experiences of acclimatising to life in the country.
In April 2016,
Prince William and the
Duchess of Cambridge met with a group of Bhutanese Britons, who worked and studied in the United Kingdom, at their
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...
home. The meeting was aimed at speaking with
Chevening Scholarship-Bhutanese students, who wore traditional
gho and
Kira-dress, ahead of a royal visit to Bhutan. Notable Bhutanese people to have studied in Britain include filmmaker and lama
Khyentse Norbu
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (, born June 18, 1961),[Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche](_blank) , who attended SOAS University of London, the
School of Oriental and African Studies, in the early 1990s.
Academic research
In a study conducted for the ''European Bulletin of Himalayan Research'' in 2013, Dr Nicole Hoellerer examined integration difficulties for
Bhutanese people, including unemployment, cultural adjustment, language barriers, and mental health, particularly for those living in the
Greater Manchester area.
Springer's ''Journal of International Migration and Integration'', in 2020 published research into Bhutanese Britons and
Bhutanese Americans
Bhutanese Americans are Americans of Bhutanese descent.
According to the 2010 census there are 19,439 Americans of Bhutanese descent. However, many Bhutanese came to the U.S. from Nepal as political refugees from that country and are registered ...
, and their integration in the respective nations.
References
{{reflist, 30em
British people of South Asian descent
British people of Asian descent