A survey of EU citizens living in the UK revealed the “open wound” left by Brexit, with respondents saying their decision to leave the bloc made them feel betrayed, insecure and distrustful of what most still call House.
The study of EU citizens from 22 countries, mostly in the UK for more than five years and remaining after Brexit, showed “a profound and lasting impact on the lives and sense of identity and belonging of EU citizens in the UK”, the authors said.
“The public narrative may suggest that Brexit is ready and dusty, and everyone has moved on,” said the report’s lead author, Prof. Nando Sigona of the University of Birmingham. “But for EU citizens, Brexit remains an open wound.
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The “EU Citizens in the UK after Brexit” study showed that restoring confidence in British institutions and politicians would be a challenge when “the Brexit ramifications still have such profound effects” on the lives of EU citizens, Sigona said.
Respondents said Brexit had significantly affected their vision of Britain. While 72% still have some emotional attachment to the UK, 89% say their views on the country have changed – 68.6% with “many” or “many” – since the 2016 referendum.
Asked to provide three words summarizing what Britain means to them, many nevertheless suggested terms such as “home” and “love”, reflecting the residual strength of EU citizens’ ties to the country in which they settled, the report said. .
However, the positive answers were surpassed by words such as “disappointment”, “betrayed”, “sadness”, “disappointment”, “anger”, “unwanted” and “disgusting”. The free-text answers to the survey mainly reflect negative sentiments.
“I was at home here,” said the 43-year-old Dutchman. “Since the referendum … people are still asking me where I come from and when I’m coming home, but these questions have lost their innocence.” Another Dutchman, 40, said: “I moved here as part of the same philosophy; now I feel that the general idea is gone and I feel like an immigrant. “
Others said Brexit had changed their view of their country of origin: “I feel more German and more attached to Germany since 2016,” said a 45-year-old German woman from the United Kingdom.
Many of the 364 respondents contrasted their view of their country of origin with their perception of Britain after Brexit. “I hope that my country of origin will never be as unjust and xenophobic as the United Kingdom is now,” said the 62-year-old Frenchwoman.
Surprisingly, Brexit also seems to have proved to be a “real trigger for pro-European sentiment”, Sigona said, with more than 90% of respondents saying they felt at least moderately attached to the bloc after Brexit. Words offered in support of this feeling include “belonging”, “peace”, “freedom”, “unity” and “movement”.
The 52-year-old Frenchwoman, who returned to France, said she “took the EU for granted before Brexit” but “now realizes how valuable it is, even if it is not perfect”. The 44-year-old Italian said she “never paid much attention to what the EU stands for or does”, but now “protects it from the lies spread in the press”.
Not surprisingly, a 96-question survey conducted between December 2021 and January 2022, a year after the end of the transition period, found that most of the EU’s established citizens in the UK, often part of several generations of households, plan to stay. More than half had permanent legal status and more than 30% had dual citizenship.
Of the approximately 30% who changed the country after the referendum, the main reasons cited were family or partner (25%), Brexit (17%), work (16%) and learning (14%) – with Brexit covering many emotional, political and practical considerations.
However, among respondents in the UK, even if the majority had established UK status or citizenship, immigration status and residence are a major concern, with different status for different family members – including parents or grandparents in the EU – affecting family relationships and shaping future plans.
There was also widespread concern that the status quo was only digital, with no proof on paper. “Given the lack of trust in the UK’s immigration authorities, many people still do not feel safe,” Sigona said. “They are also worried that they cannot, for example, take care of relatives outside the United Kingdom.
A 64-year-old woman born in France in the United Kingdom for more than 40 years said: “I can hardly express how hurt I am. I came to the United Kingdom in 1979 and worked for the NHS. I felt betrayed, inaudible, carefree. I began to suffer from anxiety. I decided to apply for British citizenship, not because I wanted to be British, but so that I could sleep at night again. When I got my British passport, I spat it out. ”
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