BREXIT The effect on migration policy, and its consequences and results POLS 418 Citizenship in changing world Timerlan Ekazhev 140303100 Antalya Bilim University Year, 2018 June 23, 2016, residents of Britain voted to exit the country from the EU. In favor of Brexit, 52% of Britons spoke. Residents of Scotland, Northern Ireland and London for the most part rejected the exit from the EU, while the rest of England and Wales supported this idea. After the announcement of the results of the referendum, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the country needs new leaders, and promised that he would retire in three months.
Finally, the country can leave the EU in only a few years. The UK Government has limited scope to restrict the entry of nationals from the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). After the opening of its employment market with no restrictions for citizens from the new EU Member States in 2004, transitional restrictions were applied to Bulgarian, Romanian, and Croatian workers’ free movement and employment rights in 2007 and 2013. In 2010, the Government specified that it would impose transitional controls on any new EU members in the future.
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It also introduced new restrictions on EU migrants regarding access to welfare benefits to address perceived “pull factors” for EU migration to the UK. The government has aimed to reduce net migration since 2010 and several policy changes have been introduced to limit immigration of non-EU nationals in one of the three main categories: work, study, and family. Eligibility criteria to enter the UK for work have become more selective for non-EU nationals. In 2011, a cap of 20.700 was introduced for employer-sponsored skilled migration and the minimum skills and language requirements were increased. Two immigration routes were closed which previously allowed skilled migrants and former international students to work in the UK without a specific job offer. However, new visas were introduced to admit graduate entrepreneurs and individuals with “exceptional” talents in the fields of science, academia, the arts, or digital technology.
In 2013, an Asylum Operating Model was launched to improve the consistency and speed of asylum decision-making. The Immigration Act 2014 was intended to make it easier to remove people refused permission to stay in the UK by reducing the scope to appeal and simplifying and enforcing the removal process. The Act also aimed to create a more ‘hostile environment’ for people living in the UK without a valid immigration status, making it harder to rent accommodation, obtain a bank account, or a driving license. The UK policy of naturalization – children born in the UK to an individual who is either a British citizen or settled in the UK automatically become British citizens at birth. Children born to non-British citizens do not get automatic citizenship.
Individuals born outside of the UK are considered to be British citizens if, at the time of birth, either the mother or father is a British citizen. Individuals who are not British citizens by birth or descent, can gain British citizenship and the citizenship includes three main categories: First one is if a child lives in the UK for the first ten years of life with only limited periods of time outside of the country, he or she acquired British citizenship regardless of parents’ status, secondly – migrants fulfilling the five-year residency requirement (individuals must have lived in the UK for five years, the last year of that as a permanent resident with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), not have been absent for more than 450 days in that period, not have been absent for more than 90 days in the 12 months before application, be of good character, pass the Life in the UK test, have sufficient knowledge of English, Welsh, or Gaelic, and have an intention to live in the UK), and 3rd one is that spouses and civil partners of British citizens are required to have been in the UK for three years and have ILR on the date of application. Rules of intention to live in the UK, good conduct, language skills, and also Life in the UK test apply to spouses. The Life test in the UK was introduced in 2010 and in the same year English language requirements became more stringent.
The numbers of citizenships awarded continued to rise until 2013, however, it is possible that the increase would have been even steeper without the changes. Furthermore, the language and knowledge requirements may have deterred applications among nationals of poorer, less educated, and non-English-speaking countries (Ryan 2008). In 2013, a more difficult English language test was introduced. According to the Home Office the number of approved citizenship applications peaked in 2013, which was an outcome of increasing numbers of applications in advance of the changes in the language requirement. The number of foreign citizens naturalized in 2014 declined by 40 % compared to 2013.
Immigration could be regulated through a new “non-bureaucratic” system based only on the market’s needs after the UK leaves the EU. “The UK risks taking back control of its border from EU bureaucrats just to hand it to Whitehall officials ready to enforce the same rules in a similar manner”, warned Louis Williams, a former macroeconomist at Credit Suisse. The replacing the current system of bureaucratic visas with a market-based immigration system would grant more freedom to companies in need of a skilled or unskilled type of worker. Employers would no longer be subjected to a screening from Whitehall asking why they need a worker but just to the laws of market, according to the macroeconomist. The Employment Committee found that the impact of Brexit is primarily felt by certain groups of EU migrants living in the UK. About 3.3 million live in the country.
After Brexit some groups of EU citizens lose guaranteed protection. The most vulnerable group is more than one hundred thousand job seekers in the UK, EU citizens, and also half of the hundreds of thousands who are sent to work in the UK by any EU country. Uncertainty will also affect those who work part time in the UK, and another part in any EU country. Brexit will also affect students and scientists from the EU. Currently, 125 thousand students from other countries study in the UK.
About 15% of the academic community in the UK are scientists from the EU. Given the laws of both sides of the referendum, UK citizens who live outside the country may be deprived of the right to work, purchase of real estate, the creation and conduct of commercial activities and other types of business. The severance of relations between countries, British emigrants does not promise anything but ambiguity.
The campaign for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, largely based on hatred of migrants, has given its poisonous fruit: after the referendum, the British are increasingly telling migrants to go to their Africa, Poland or Latvia. After the completion of the referendum on the withdrawal of Britain from the European Union in the country, more often they insulted migrants and attacked those, writes The Huffington Post. Even during the ad campaign of the Brexit supporters, they were accused of inciting hatred of migrants. The vivid propaganda disseminated by the UKIP party caused a lot of criticism because of xenophobic motives.
Now, after the announcement of the results of the referendum, some Britons decided it was time to get rid of the migrants right now, and they began loudly explaining that it’s time to pack their staff. And if only recently the scandal between neighbors, during which the Scot ordered them “to get out to their Latvia”, was a phenomenon quite unusual, so that newspapers would write about it, but now it happens all the time. The special groups Post Ref Racism on Facebook and Twitter gather examples of how the hatred of national minorities has increased. Migrants are humiliated, threatened, and insulted leaflets in mailboxes. For example, in these social networks you can find thematic photos with the inscriptions: “Stop immigration, start repatriation”. With particular fury, the nationalists attack the Polish diaspora.
In central England, someone scattered leaflets “Get out, Polish evil spirits,” and the Polish cultural center in London painted insulting graffiti, for the first time in its 50-year history. Representative of the President of Poland Andrzej Duda, Marek Magirovsky, demanded that ex-Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the leader of UKIP Nigel Faraj, the two main propagandists of Brexit, condemn this outrageous barbarity. Lyma Brents, the head of the consultation and translation bureau in Spalding, who helps immigrants from Latvia, says that the referendum gave the British the illusion of permissiveness, which allows them to publicly humiliate other people. “I even want to cry, I have to hear such comments as” Pack your bags and go where you came from! “Even colleagues who have been friends for many years allow themselves to ask:” Well, have you already finished packing your bag? “- says Brents. The British Ambassador to Latvia Tim Kolly today at a meeting of the Seimas Commission for Europe said he was alarmed at the verbal abuse that minorities face.
He stressed that he felt shame and anger. These offensive statements were condemned by all political parties of the country, and British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the government will not tolerate such cases. EU citizens wishing to move to the UK after Brexit will have to seriously think about the benefits they can bring to this country. On the website of the British newspaper The Guardian published a document of the British Ministry of the Interior, which sheds light on the plans of the country after leaving the European Union. In accordance with the plan set out in the 82-page document dated August 2017, immediately after Brexit the UK is going to set restrictions on free entry for labor migrants from the EU and their families. The plans to introduce changes to the British migration policy are primarily aimed at protecting the interests of the working citizens of the country.
Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that migration should be useful not only to migrants themselves, but also to citizens of the state. The document suggests measures to restrict the entry of low-skilled workers into the country, they will be asked to apply for a residence permit (residence permit) for a period of two years. Those who will be recognized as “highly qualified” will be allowed to obtain a residence permit for up to five years. Accordingly, this will oblige the migrant to present his / her education documents and confirm the qualification. In addition, the limit of relatives who can come with a labor migrant is indicated – spouses, children under the age of 18 and elderly people who are dependent. All those wishing to come to work in the UK will have to show a passport at the border, and not an identity card of the citizen of the country from which a person leaves, as it is now.
Such a rule is to be introduced immediately after Brexit, which is scheduled for March 29, 2019. It is noted in the document that everyone will be informed about this innovation. The implementation of plans to change the migration policy should go through three stages: at the first stage, the number of migrants will be counted, then the period of introduction of measures to restrict migration will follow, and in the final, new laws will be finally adopted. On the second stage, the Ministry of Internal Affairs allocates a period of two years, after the country leaves the European Union. The document emphasizes that all these steps will be taken not to completely stop the migration, but in order to protect the country’s economy and the rights of its citizens. It is also noted that British employers should first of all recruit their compatriots who need to earn money, since this is much more important in building a firm and competitive economy of the country. Regarding the situation of EU citizens residing in the UK and British people in the European Union, the White Paper does not provide new information more than what the British Prime Minister, Therese May, said in her speech.
It is noted that granting them a special status is one of the priorities of the government during the upcoming talks: “The UK is ready to provide people with certainty in this matter, which they want, at the first opportunity (2017)”. Currently, you can access resources for Britons living in the EU countries. Especially this issue worries pensioners.
The document did not shed light on the scope of alleged control over immigration. With regard to immigration legislation, the phased introduction of new rules will be applied to give people the opportunity to get used to and adapt. In conclusion, what would UK immigration policy look like after a vote to leave EU? As with many questions in the EU referendum debate, there is huge uncertainty. We do not know what kind of agreement the UK and EU might strike after Brexit, how the UK government of the day would design any new policies towards EU and non-EU migration, or how crucially important drivers of migration economy – would evolve. What is clear is that if free movement came to an end, the task of designing a new immigration system would be hugely complex.
Fundamental questions such as whether or not to satisfy the demand for migrant labor in low- and middle-skilled jobs, as well as how to manage trade-offs between the costs and benefits of different types of migration. References ABC News, Brexit, Britain to leave European Union after referendum, 2016The Guardian, Europe, Brexit and migration policy, Alan Travis, 2018. The Huffington Post, World News, UK Brexit, 2017. ABC Premium News, Brexit, British migration policy, Jun 27, 2016The Migration Observatory, Migration and Brexit, Rob McNeil, 2016The Guardian, Europe, No guarantee points-based system will reduce net migration, experts warn, Alan Travis, 2016
