While EU citizens in the UK remain concerned that their future’s have become bargaining chips for the Brexit negotiations, perhaps in reality PM Theresa May’s speech on ‘a truly Global Britain’ and being outward-looking put some hope into us that we would not become, metaphorically, an island.
On Sunday, The Telegraph published an article of the Prime Minister’s announcements next month reiterating that ‘EU migrants who arrived in the UK before the “cut-off date” will have their rights protected as long British citizens living elsewhere in Europe are granted the same assurance’. This hopes to alleviate any ongoing concerns and provide clarity to the ‘3.6 million EU migrants already living in the UK’. However, the article added, the Prime Minister will also announce ‘the end of free movement for new EU migrants’, meaning they will be ‘subject to migration curbs…which could include a new visa regime and restricted access to benefits’. This was validated by Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s Sunday appearance on ITV in which she said, ‘One thing I can confirm is that we will be ending Freedom of Movement as we know it’. She also added that Government continues to be ‘looking at a range of options’ and that ‘one of the first things [they] will do is a consultation’ as they ‘want to make sure any future policy is based on fact’.
The hope from many was that the ‘cut off’ date would have been pushed until 2019, the year that the UK hopes to officially become independent from the EU. This, some have feared, may result in a surge in the number of EU migrants coming to the UK before Brexit. The announcement does come as a bit of a surprise as only recently did David Davis, the Secretary of State for Leaving the EU, say that the ‘UK is not about to “suddenly shut the door” on low-skilled EU migrants‘, to which the Home Secretary responded that Government was ‘against cliff edges‘.
While some may argue – and indeed some do – that it is only fair for EU rights to be granted based on reciprocity – in that those member states which secure British rights in their countries will be granted the same rights in the UK – the reality is that global talent is finding the current climate hard to stomach. Recent news has highlighted the potential threat of a brain drain in the UK, likely due to the ‘highlight publicised spike in hate crime‘.
The Guardian reported that the ‘latest quarterly migration figures from the Office for National Statistics show that immigration fell by 23,000’ and that ‘a key component in the unexpected fall was an estimated 41,000 drop in the number of international students coming to study in Britain, to 134,000, the lowest level since 2002’.
Additionally, the wealth of horror stories in the media about families and students being deported is increasing. In December, Dutch software engineer and mother of two married to a British citizen was told to ‘make arrangements to leave’ after applying for citizenship; another woman married for 27 years was also ‘removed without warning‘ and sent back to Singapore.
Additionally, despite Government claims to welcome the ‘best and brightest’, German neuroscientist residing in the UK since 1999 had also been asked to leave. Recently, a young Sri Lankan student was told to leave three months before finishing her studies, which sparked outrage followed by a campaign in which more than 100,000 signatures supported her stay. Her deportation has now been delayed.
While these cases may well be mistakes by the Home Office using ‘standard letters’, the fact stands that these stories damage the reputation of the UK being a hub and melting pot for global talent.
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