One of the key arguments behind Brexit was to ‘take back control of our borders’ by introducing a new immigration system that attracts ‘the brightest and best’, while protecting the rights of those EU nationals resident in the UK up to Brexit day (31 January 2020).
The new immigration policy and laws
Since 1 January 2021, EU nationals arriving in the UK must follow one of the specified visa routes for residence in the UK. As a result of the new post-Brexit immigration policy, only 5% of all visas post-2021 have been granted to EU nationals. EU citizens today make up more than half of those refused entry at the UK border.
New enrolments of EU students have drastically fallen by 53% in the 2021/22 academic year, negatively impacting universities. Today EU students without settled status:
- must enter the UK with a passport and a valid study visa
- are not entitled to apply for a student loan in England or free university education in Scotland
- may not be able to bring dependents while studying
- will be required to pay in advance the immigration health surcharge at £1,035 for each year of the visa (which could be refunded)
Such restrictions do not apply to Irish students because of different immigration rules.
What the statistics show
Although immigration of EU citizens to the UK fell sharply after 2016, evidence suggests that the large majority of EU migrants already here did not leave the UK. Most EU-born migrants in the UK today come from central and eastern Europe, with the top countries of origin being Poland, Romania, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, France and Bulgaria.
Current challenges in ensuring EU citizens’ rights
Problems remain in protecting the rights of EU citizens who are eligible or have been granted settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (the equivalent of the right to remain in the UK permanently).
The Independent Monitoring Authority and civil society organisations continue to work to ensure that the rights guaranteed under the Withdrawal Agreement remain protected. Some thorny issues remain, concerning:
- the digital-only ‘paperwork’ that is in effect discriminatory
- late applications under the EU Settlement Scheme
- bringing family members to the UK
- potential waiting time at the UK border while immigration status checks are being carried out
- reducing administrative burdens and delays faced by applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme
- entitlement to UK welfare benefits for EU nationals (or their family members) who have pre-settled status
- entitlement to British citizenship for EU nationals or their UK-born children, which is dependent on acquiring settled status
Generally, those coming here to work are young and economically active, but as the EU migrant workers age, access to healthcare and to information about state pensions becomes more pertinent. These matters are yet to become prominent in the public debate, but are key policy priorities for an ageing UK society, especially in coastal and rural communities. These have a larger percentage of older EU migrants with work history in precarious employment such as agri-foods or hospitality, in places like King’s Lynn, Boston or Wisbech.
What for the (near) future?
Despite the reduction in EU migration post-Brexit, and the recent increase in non-EU migration, various economic sectors – especially hospitality, agriculture, logistics, nursing and social care – continue to face labour shortages. This means that immigration policy and rules will need to continue to be revised. This is because investment in training and education alone is not likely to improve the preparedness of the local population to undertake some types of work that migrants are likely to be more willing to do – at least not in the immediate future.
It is inevitable that immigration will be required for the economy, but questions remain about how this is to be best achieved sustainably, by guaranteeing protection of students’ and workers’ rights while attracting “the brightest and best”.
