Uncertain Future for Europeans in the UK

Outing myself as an immigration lawyer usually heralds the start of one of two conversations, blissful indifference aside. If you're talking to a British passport holder, the usual reaction is to chuckle and tell me that I must be very busy indeed. For non-British passport holders, the conversation will usually turn towards asking for advice on the next step for themselves or a distant family member.

In London, this is particularly acute where over a third of the population was born outside the UK, the vast majority from Europe.

It might be a sign of my age, but social functions these days seem to involve groups coalescing around useful opinion givers. Me providing the immigration advice, my partner explaining tax regulations and drafting wills on napkins while long-suffering doctors politely explain that they most certainly do not want to take a look at this time. I probably need to go to more interesting parties.

Both anecdotally and judging by the increasing volume of calls from clients, European citizens are terribly concerned about the possible implications of Brexit and what this means for them and their families. It’s a topic which was viewed as an unlikely storm on the horizon some months ago, but now feels like a hurricane rattling at their windows and shaking the foundations of their stable home life in the UK.

I read with interest therefore, the letter sent to the Financial Times by British Future.  The think tank asked for clarification from both sides of the EU Referendum on the issue of what will actually happen to European migrants currently in the UK (approximately 3 million). The Leave camp especially needs to clarify their vision as their desired referendum result would make the question real. We’ve heard plenty on bilateral agreements over trade and tariffs, but scant little on the practical effects on real people.

All European citizens in the UK are able to apply for residence cards from the Home Office but few do. The border control and right to work checks have only ever required EEA and Swiss citizens to show their passports or ID cards – it has often been considered pointless to request another document to lose.

That has now changed. We’ve noticed a surge in enquiries from EEA nationals looking to regularise their status. Many have been shocked to learn of the rule change in November 2015 which prevented a direct application for Naturalisation as a British Citizen once they had been in the UK for six continuous years. Now, EEA nationals must apply for Permanent Residence first – which can take six months to process by the understaffed and overwhelmed Home Office team – before they submit a further application for citizenship.

No group, besides those on the fringes of politics, are advocating mass removal; a solution which many will feel is as un-British as it is impractical. It seems like that a registration programme for existing European nationals residing in the UK would be introduced to allow them to demonstrate their right to work and leave to remain. Any move by the UK government against another country’s citizens would need to be carefully managed to avoid tit-for-tat measures against British citizens enjoying retirement in Spain.

Should the UK vote for Brexit, perhaps the long dormant Tier 3 “Unskilled Worker” visa category would be opened for visas to ease the inevitable shortage of workers in key industries such as agriculture.

It seems like that any changes would take years to negotiate and put in place, that uncertainty is sometimes worse than the end result. It would be good to have clarification from both sides on the debate on how they see the future taking hold.