EU citizens who fear deportation from the UK post-Brexit have told of the “offensive” amount of paperwork they have to submit to the Home Office to prove they have lived in the country.
Some have discovered they are not even eligible for permanent residency documents, simply because they did not think to take out private health insurance or because they were a homemaker and all the household bills and bank statements were in their partners’ names.
One woman, a full-time mother, who did not have the required five years of bank statements in her own name was told by a Home Office adviser to get her child’s school to come to her aid.
“I was then told in no uncertain terms that I need to go back home and get a statement from my kids’ school to say I am there every day at drop off/pick up,” she said.
A spokeswoman for The3million campaign group, which has been lobbying the government to ensure EU citizens can remain in the UK post-Brexit with all the rights they presently have, said: “Some people are OK about the questions, others feel criminalised by the situation and find the whole application process offensive.”
Figures out on Thursday showed a surge in the numbers who are applying for permanent residency with a backlog of 100,000 trying to secure their place in Britain.
Here, EU citizens tell their own stories.
Sylvie Kilford, Polish, PhD student
I live in constant uncertainty and dread. Like many others, I feel like I’ve invested my entire adulthood into this country. If I have to I can leave, but many others can’t
I’ve lived in the UK for 11 years now and have been married to a British man for the last four years. Yet I am not eligible for the permanent residency card. That’s because I’ve not had comprehensive health insurance, and since I was a student and never earned enough money for a long enough time to count as “exercising my treaty rights” I can’t apply.
Before I knew about the health insurance issue, I passed the citizenship test, looking to apply directly for citizenship.
Only after I passed and got all my papers together was I told about the insurance requirement.
In the years that passed between the moment I’d been here long enough to apply for citizenship and now, the rules have changed several times (so now I’d have to apply for permanent residency first to even get to the stage of applying for citizenship) and the current government had made it increasingly more difficult to get the proper papers to show you can stay here.
Suddenly, I find myself looking at the threat of either being deported or staying here illegally, unless the government issues a blanket decree that we can all stay.
I live in constant uncertainty and dread. Like many others, I feel like I’ve invested my entire adulthood into this country. I’ve been encouraged to stay by my British lecturers who helped me get a scholarship and prodded me to do a PhD, and by my British husband.
Since 23 June, suddenly I find myself explaining to people that I’ve never taken a penny in benefits and dread what might happen if someone listens carefully to my accent.
It’s become OK for people to say things like “Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t about you, you’re basically British anyway” or “you’re married to a British man, so they’re not going to kick you out” as though I should be ashamed of who I am in reality, or hide behind my whiteness, and my ability to speak English well enough to “pass” if I don’t say too much, or if I’m not listened to too carefully. As though being married to a British man could possibly shield me from deportation.
Naturally, I hope Brexit doesn’t happen. Not because of my particular situation, even though it does feel, on a personal level, like a huge injustice. But I am fortunate in that I’m young, educated and healthy and so, if it comes to that, I can move somewhere else. But there are lots of people who are not in that situation. People who are older, who have businesses here that they can’t just leave. Mothers, who have spent decades raising a family, and therefore not “exercising their treaty rights”. I feel for them, and I wish the British were better informed about our plight. Furthermore, I love this country and Brexit is going to harm it, as well as the EU.
Charles Noblet, 44, French, programme director in IT and telecoms
I have contributed to the UK for 21 years. But since 23 June, I have felt up and down about living in the UK. I feel betrayed, not at home, sad
I came to the UK in 1995 on the Erasmus scheme and did an MSc by research at King’s College London. Since then I have always lived in the UK. My wife Jayne is a British citizen and we live near Bristol and have a small cottage in Cornwall.
We have dogs and horses and if we were asked to leave , it would be very complicated. I have contributed full time to National Insurance for 21 years and every year send between £35,000 to £40,000 to the tax man.
Since 23 June, I have felt up and down about living in the UK. I also had a lot of anxiety, less now. My wife could sense how stressed I was and I presume I am not the only one. How many of us have lived and built our life in the UK (and legally).
Interestingly, I am feeling more French than ever since the referendum.
Unfortunately, we can’t move back to France in an instant. My wife employs 15 British citizens at her company. We would have to sell our properties and find another job.
I have looked into the application for permanent residency, thinking it might be a safety net. Four months ago, I decided not to apply, as I felt I was being treated like a second class citizen.
Then I started looking at it again. But I will wait to hear what will happen by end of March – probably not much I think. Right now, we live in the UK legally and the state owes me a pension for all my contributions! If I have to apply for the permanent residency application or a simplified version, I will do this. The option of going back to France is not on the table right now.
Monika Lutke-Daldrup, 46, German, senior director in customer service in large consumer company
My worry is not so much about being kicked out but that my life is here
I have lived here for 18 years, been employed and paid taxes without a break. I also hold a UK driving licence, pay council tax in my name and am on the electoral register for local and European elections. So you’d think I’m fairly “official” and my address and residence status should be well known to the authorities. I also have a mortgage in my name. As for the permanent residency application, it’s taken me a few weeks already gathering residence documents for the past five years (who keeps bills from 2011?)
Council tax bills qualify but who would have thought you would need to keep them?
I also need to track my exact whereabouts for either five or all of the 18 years (it is unclear on the form) on a day-by-day basis, which is a nightmare. I travel a lot for work and am probably abroad about 20 times a year.
The reason I am doing the PR application is partly for some “irrational assurance” in these uncertain times where just anything seems possible, and partly as it’s a prerequisite to a UK citizenship application.
My worry is not so much about being kicked out but that my life is here. I have a good job here, my friends are here. I just want to make sure I can stay here, make sure I can get the pension that I have been paying into, my health insurance is here. I am very angry about the situation.
The latter is something I hadn’t been too bothered about until now, but I do want the right to vote in this country going forward. I felt incredibly disempowered not being able to vote on my future in the referendum.
Judit Szarka, 34, Hungarian, secretary in global insurance company
Why would I want to become part of a nation who so strongly dislike EU citizens making an honest life in their country?
When the government announced that they consider us bargaining chips in the negotiations with the EU I was outraged. I was a 2012 Games Maker and got my thank you letter from 10 Downing Street after the Olympic Games. I volunteer and raise money for charities as much as I can. I used to fill a shopping basket for the food bank every month. I felt being a part of something great up until the Brexit result. Now I feel betrayed.
Sometimes I have trouble sleeping and get tearful easily. I was heartbroken when my friend, Zdenek Makar was killed in Poplar and since then I avoid speaking in public in case I get targeted because of my accent.
My partner, who is British, didn’t vote in the referendum. He doesn’t understand my reaction to Brexit and thinks I’m paranoid and should feel safe in London. But it is hard to deal with uncertainty.
But to cut a long story short, I now refuse to apply for permanent residency and citizenship. Becoming a UK citizen should be a happy celebratory moment. But I can no longer relate to Britain after Brexit. Why would I want to become part of a nation who so strongly dislike EU citizens making an honest life in their country?
If my rights here won’t be guaranteed as I feel I rightfully deserve, I will be truly happy to pack my bag and make my life elsewhere.
I arrived with a suitcase and £50 in my pocket on 1 February 2005. I now have a very nice City job and my own flat in London. I am highly adaptable and a great problem solver. I have no doubt that it will be all right at the end of the day for me, regardless if it will be in the UK or if I will be making and living another dream of mine somewhere else.
My only fear that my once beloved UK will be truly and utterly broken after Brexit.
Axel Antoni, German, 43, business consultant
I came here the year of Cool Britannia, now I fear for my future. We have no voice
I first came to the UK from Germany in 1998 to study on a European exchange programme. It was the year of Cool Britannia. The Spice Girls were wearing Union Jack outfits to advertise our country on their world tours and Oasis and Blur were carrying British culture around the globe. There was no place better than Britain for a young person to be back then.
I returned to Germany in 2000 to finish my studies and when the opportunity arose to return to the UK for work in July 2001 I packed my bags and came back to the country I fell in love with.
I have set up my life here, actually I have lived longer in London than in any other place previous to coming to the UK. I have been married to my British wife for 10 years and have two lovely British children. Until 23 June my life seemed perfect.
I would like to get back to the worries though that we, as non-British EU citizens, have in regards to quitting the EU. Apart from the palpable wave of xenophobia gripping the country there are real concerns about our legal status and especially the potential burden to have to prove our legal status on an ongoing basis.
One of the main reasons for me to apply for permanent residency is the feeling of doing something during times when I feel total powerlessness. The government has not given us a voice, is declining to listen to our concerns and is using us as bargaining chips in their shambolic Brexit negotiations. Hence, I am doing the only thing that is in my powers, securing my legal status to protect myself and my family.
Davis Barroso, 34, Italian, travel executive
I feel like my position in UK is no longer safe
I am an Italian citizen living in the UK for 15 years.
Following the results of the referendum, I decided to apply for permanent residency, not because someone said it was necessary but because I have built a whole grown up life here and I feel like my position in UK is no longer safe.
I was only 19 years old when I first arrived. I grew from a boy to man in the UK. Have always worked, paid taxes, made friends and family. I bought a property, never claimed benefits and also pay for a private retirement pension.
I did not have any problems in acquiring the permanent residency because I still have a lot of paper documents since I arrived. But I still felt very uncomfortable to have to prove everything like an outsider.
Before November 2015 there was no need of permanent residence for EU citizens to apply for British citizenship. Now there is. Once you are issued with a PR document you still have to wait another year to apply for citizenship regardless if you have been here for over 10 years. That just tell us it will only get worse after we are fully out of EU, doesn’t it?
Paola Rizzato, Italian, 43, between jobs
I am married to a British citizen but that doesn’t qualify me for permanent residency
I am an EU citizen who has lived in this country for over 22 years of which three were as a student and the remaining as a worker. I am married to a British citizen, which leads people to think that it will be very straightforward for me to acquire permanent residency. That’s not actually the case.
My marriage doesn’t give me an advantage, apart from being able to apply for naturalisation immediately after obtaining permanent residency (otherwise one has to wait a year).
I am an educated person but I found the 85-page form so overwhelming that I decided to hire an immigration lawyer. I have already spent around £1,000 on legal fees but so far I feel it has been money well spent. My application has now been sent off – now I’m going to have to wait four to six months until I hear back.
My solicitor tells me that I have nothing to worry about but unfortunately I can’t help it and my levels of anxiety have soared since 23 Jun. I know I am not alone in this.
I am lucky in that the Italian government allows us to have both a national ID card and a passport – I sent off my ID card to the Home Office and kept my passport, so I will still be able to travel. A new “passport checking” service has been introduced for PR but it’s only for online applications and there are many reports of teething problems, with local authorities rejecting documents for all sorts of reasons.
I hope that your article will help to challenge the “everything will be all right” comment I keep hearing from British people. I find that kind of comment well-meaning but very frustrating – people have no idea of what we are going through and of what our applications entail.
Morten Ronne, Danish, owner of tour company, Scotland
If it was up to me I would rather leave the UK if we were meant to feel not welcome.
We are a family of five have lived in Edinburgh since March 2010 and we have been really happy about coming to Scotland. While I feel the debate about Brexit – before and after the referendum – has been quite civil all in all, at least compared to other countries, I do feel alarmed about our future prospects. I am first and foremost a bit worried about my children who have integrated well here in Scotland and feel that this is now their home country.
Having said that I can tell from the Facebook group Forum for EU Citizens that apparently I am not nearly as alarmed as a lot of other people. We have indeed thought about applying for citizenship but 1) it’s quite expensive and 2) it really shouldn’t be necessary. For the time being we have decided not to go ahead with it and apply for citizenship and unless we are forced to do so I don’t think we will. To be honest, if it was up to me I would rather leave the UK if we were meant to feel not welcome.
On that note I do think it’s important to mention that while I have read about a rise in reported hate crime or anger towards Europeans we have not experienced anything like that. I couldn’t tell you if we have been lucky or if it’s not really an issue in Scotland.
We would obviously have preferred to stay in the EU and was a bit miffed about the fact that we were not allowed a vote in the referendum, but I guess what we are hoping for now, here in Scotland would be a second referendum – and hopefully with a different outcome than the first time.
Gerhard Lohmann-Bond, 62, German, local Green party politician
I wouldn’t mind at all if the authorities throw me out. It would create such an outcry
I am one of the EU migrants who refuse to entertain applying for residency documents out of principle.
I have lived in the UK since 1977 with a break of 18 months from 2004-2006. My family (my wife, a teacher, and my two sons who are in further education) and I live in Lincolnshire in the constituency of Grantham and Stamford, which voted to leave the EU by a substantial margin.
I sit on the local parish council and the East Midlands regional committee of the Green party and have recently been campaigning against local NHS cuts and closures. As a local politician I am on first name terms with a number of district and county councillors (mostly conservatives). I suppose you could consider me part of the fabric of Lincolnshire.
As such, I would like to see anyone trying to kick me out.
I wouldn’t mind at all if the authorities throw me out. It would create such an outcry.
I don’t think that is going to happen and if it did, I reckon it would an outcry on both sides of the arguments surrounding EU membership. I shall therefore continue to live my life as before, but have every sympathy for those EU migrants who are fearful for their future in the UK and try to play by the Home Office’s rules.
