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  • Final report release
    Final report release
    Wojciech Bedyński

    The final report of the project “The impact of Brexit on migration from the V4 countries to the UK: migrant strategies” has been published today as part of the CMR Working Papers series. It can be downloaded here:

  • Project’s final seminar
    Project’s final seminar
    Wojciech Bedyński

    The final meeting of the project took place in Warsaw on 30-31st January 2023. The consortium was hosted by the co-ordinator, the Centre of Migration Research University of Warsaw (CMR UW). On the first day, the project members discussed in detail the joint article. It must be mentioned, that since the kick-off meeting in 2019, […]

  • Project closing meeting, 31 Jan 2023, Warsaw
    Project closing meeting, 31 Jan 2023, Warsaw
    Wojciech Bedyński

    On 31.01.2023 at 13:00 we invite you to the conference room of the Centre of Migration Research at the University of Warsaw, 7 Pasteura Street (2nd floor) for an open meeting summarising the project ‘The impact of Brexit on migration from the V4 countries: migrant strategies’ (International Visegrad Fund grant no. 21910049). The meeting will […]

  • Britain – between Europe and the Empire
    Britain – between Europe and the Empire
    Wojciech Bedyński

    It has been written in many places (eg. “The Guardian,” 9 Sept 2022; “The Economist,” 8 Sept 2022; reuters.com, 8 Sept 2022) that the death of Queen Elizabeth II symbolically closes a certain era in British history. At the same time, the authors pointed out that her reign was already a bit outdated or “of […]

  • „…a career I could have never dream of if I had stayed in Hungary”
    „…a career I could have never dream of if I had stayed in Hungary”
    Katalin Kovály

    The post written by Ágnes Erőss „Oh, I’ll give it all up here… I’d rather go to England and wash dishes!” – one could often here such exclamations in Hungary, especially before the Brexit. Indeed, thousands – lacking any clear ideas or job offers – left the country and started employment as bar tenders, waiters, […]

  • THE IMPACT OF BREXIT ON MIGRANT STRATEGIES OF THE SLOVAKS IN THE UK (RESEARCH FINDINGS)
    THE IMPACT OF BREXIT ON MIGRANT STRATEGIES OF THE SLOVAKS IN THE UK (RESEARCH FINDINGS)
    Jana Pecnikova

    The migration wave from the V4 countries to Great Britain, which followed the EU enlargement of 2004, allowed unprecedented numbers of the “new Europeans“, including Slovaks, enter the UK. Like most migrants, they were ready to work hard so as to deserve their chances for a better living, envisioned back in their home countries. From […]

  • Doubts and proofs – Hungarian student life in the UK after Brexit
    Doubts and proofs – Hungarian student life in the UK after Brexit
    Katalin Kovály

    It is well known fact that Great Britain exited the European Union on 1 January 2021. „Nothing will change for Hungarians living in the UK after Brexit”, said Iain Lindsay, British ambassador to Hungary before Brexit.[1] He added that the UK has the biggest Hungarian-born population outside the Carpathian Basin and is the second or […]

  • The Latest Migration Policies: Return of the Slovak Migrants from the UK to Slovakia
    The Latest Migration Policies: Return of the Slovak Migrants from the UK to Slovakia
    Petra Strnadova

    A proposal of the new design of the Slovak Republic migration policy up to 2025 was adopted by the Slovak government during its regular session on 8 December 2021 (https://www.minv.sk/?zamer-migracnej-politiky-slovenskej-republiky). Part of the text that is in line with our major concern, i.e. Slovak migrants in the UK and the prospective of their return to the […]

  • End of the pandemic? Loosening of some Covid restictions in the UK
    End of the pandemic? Loosening of some Covid restictions in the UK
    Wojciech Bedyński

    After almost two years, the British government decided to loosen most of the restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is no longer obligatory to wear face masks, show covid certificates, or to work remotely. Even compulsory isolation in the event of a coronavirus infection is expected to be removed at the end […]

  • Slovakia and Migration – Flows and Effects
    Slovakia and Migration – Flows and Effects
    Jana Pecnikova

    Slovakia is not one of the traditional destination countries for migrants. It is a culturally homogeneous country that has not been affected by the dramatic increase in migration during the 20th century. Until recently, the Slovak Republic was almost exclusively the country of origin of migrants, the country from which citizens migrated abroad for various […]

  • Brexit. Long term effects.
    Brexit. Long term effects.
    Wojciech Bedyński

    One of the interviewees said few weeks ago that the true impact of Brexit is yet to come. And indeed in September 2021 serious supplies shortages are painfully experienced by the Brits making queues for petrol, empty shelves in supermarkets (which are compared by older Poles to the situation of late communism in the People […]

  • “Just don’t meet any Hungarians.” Informal Hungarian community in Great Britain
    “Just don’t meet any Hungarians.” Informal Hungarian community in Great Britain
    Katalin Kovály

    In one of our previous posts we provided a brief overview of Hungarian community life based on formal institutions. Now, with the help of some interview excerpts, we would like to present how Hungarians living in Great Britain perceive each other and how the Hungarian informal community life works. Importantly, we do not claim that […]

  • Ethnicity and language in mixed partnerships – what language(s) do the Slovak migrants (mothers and children) speak?
    Ethnicity and language in mixed partnerships – what language(s) do the Slovak migrants (mothers and children) speak?
    Jana Pecnikova

    Our colleague Dagmara Majerova (Matej Bel University) published recently a very interesting article on issue of ethnic identity of Slovak migrants focused on mothers in London living in the ethnically mixed partnerships / marriages, who bring up their children in a bilingual family environment. She found that in mixed Slovak-British families, bilingual education of children is applied […]

  • „I knew that it would be good for me here” – London in the eyes of Hungarian migrants
    „I knew that it would be good for me here” – London in the eyes of Hungarian migrants
    Ágnes Erőss

    When landing in a new country, we are generally full with expectations. Our mind is filled with images of landmarks or fragments of a “typical” landscape. We have learnt bits and pieces about that country’s culture or have heart about rules of behaviour to respect. Nevertheless, when one arrives with the purpose to pursue studies […]

  • Brexit, the British (English?) nationalism and the immigrants from the V4
    Brexit, the British (English?) nationalism and the immigrants from the V4
    Wojciech Bedyński

    I was personally surprised that in the majority of the interviews I made with Polish migrants about Brexit, there appear mentions about nationalistic behaviors of the British people. Even if the interviewees have not experienced them themselves, they were told about them by friends or know it third hand. Referendum campaign revealed much of these […]

  • The Happy End for   (Some) Romani Migrant Children
    The Happy End for (Some) Romani Migrant Children
    Petra Strnadova

    It is generally acknowledged that in the last thirty years, migration policy and multiculturalism in the public policies have been on the list of the most discussed and polarising topics in the British public sphere. Negatively constructed identity of Slovak/East European Romani migrants as “the country´s social welfare system abusers“ and “the non-integrateable community members“ […]

  • Slovak (and Czech) Virtual Communities in the UK
    Slovak (and Czech) Virtual Communities in the UK
    Jana Pecnikova

    We found an interesting study on the topic of migration in the UK with the results of research carried out at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. They focused on Slovak virtual communities and their functioning in the UK. The content analysis shows that the Facebook page “Czechs and Slovaks in the UK” is mainly used […]

  • Cultural institutions as scenes of Hungarian community life in Great Britain
    Cultural institutions as scenes of Hungarian community life in Great Britain
    Katalin Kovály

    In our research, we paid attention to compile data about the Hungarian community life in Great Britain. We were curious about how active the community life is and to how intense the networking is between Hungarians. The conversations revealed that above all we must separate social life organized under the umbrella of official cultural institutions […]

  • A short note about the Hungarian supplementary/weekend schools in the UK
    A short note about the Hungarian supplementary/weekend schools in the UK
    Ágnes Erőss

    In contrast to what we had planned, due to the pandemic this research has been conducted exclusively online so far, when both our interview partners and us stayed at home in lockdown. Often this resulted in unexpected situations when a bunch of kids run into the room during the interview and asked for all sorts […]

  • Migrants and the internal divisions of the United Kingdom
    Migrants and the internal divisions of the United Kingdom
    Wojciech Bedyński

    The United Kingdom is not homogeneous, as was perfectly illustrated by the results of the 2016 Brexit referendum. While at the national level 51.9% of eligible voters voted to leave the European Union, in Scotland 62% of citizens voted to stay in its structures. In no administrative region in Scotland the majority was in favor […]

  • Another Brexit Externality: Au pairs Wanted, Still not Allowed
    Another Brexit Externality: Au pairs Wanted, Still not Allowed
    Petra Strnadova

    As was mentioned in my previous blog, majority of the Slovak interviewees first came to Britain as au pairs. Until recently, it was the easiest and most affordable way for a young foreigner with a lack of qualifications or skills to find a job and explore the UK by living with the host family and taking care […]

  • “I have not seen my grandson in a year”- Czechs demand loosening of travel restrictions
    “I have not seen my grandson in a year”- Czechs demand loosening of travel restrictions
    Karina Hoření

    Today, the group of Czech citizens living in the UK sent a petition demanding loosening of travel restriction to the Czech Ministry of Health. The petition that went public a week ago was signed by more than sixteen hundred Czech citizens.Currently, the Ministry of Health selects EU countries into three categories (red/orange/green). Red countries are […]

  • How does a young Slovak family evaluate life in Britain?
    How does a young Slovak family evaluate life in Britain?
    Jana Pecnikova

    In the V4 Brexit project, we at Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica follow the life strategies of Slovaks in Britain. In this article, we focus on how a young Slovak family evaluates the everyday life in Britain. They come from a small town in the East of Slovakia, where there were not many job […]

  • What does Brexit mean for (and not only) Hungarians? Let’s talk about practicalities!
    What does Brexit mean for (and not only) Hungarians? Let’s talk about practicalities!
    Katalin Kovály

    The previous post about Hungary described that in the last couple of years the United Kingdom has become one of the most attractive destinations in Western Europe for Hungarians migrants. The number of Hungarians permanently residing in the UK was around 100,000 in 2020 (however, presumably there is a significant group of Hungarian citizens, who […]

  • “Good” and “Bad” Migrants in the Perception of Czechs living in the UK
    “Good” and “Bad” Migrants in the Perception of Czechs living in the UK
    Karina Hoření

    In today’s post we would like to describe an interesting feature of the interviews with the Czechs living in the UK that goes beyond life choices and strategies concerning Brexit. We will elaborate on ways how migrants in the UK were divided between desirable and undesirable in their speeches (with Czechs always on the right […]

  • Brexit: a Sad Story with Happy End for Slovaks in the UK
    Brexit: a Sad Story with Happy End for Slovaks in the UK
    Petra Strnadova

    In the following article, we bring forward a brief report on the early-stage research conducted by the Slovak team from Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica. In similarity to our V4 colleagues, we have recruited our interview partners either on personal-acquaintance basis, or with help of the social networks, especially the expat groups. All our interviews […]

  • Brief overview of the migration from Hungary to the United Kingdom since the EU accession
    Brief overview of the migration from Hungary to the United Kingdom since the EU accession
    Ágnes Erőss

    The first blog post about Hungary aims to offer a very brief overview of the estimated volume and main features of migration from Hungary to the UK. The post is based on academic articles and on-line press sources. In the compilation of datasets, we rely on the results of Gábor Csontos, who spent three months […]

  • Brexit?- Nothing Interesting for Czechs (So Far)
    Brexit?- Nothing Interesting for Czechs (So Far)
    Karina Hoření

    How do Czechs living in the UK perceive and experience Brexit? Our team from the Institute of Sociological Studies at Charles University in Prague tries to understand these questions through interviews that we have been conducting since spring 2020- despite our hopes so far only online. In the first blog post of the Czech team, […]

  • Unresolved issues around Brexit
    Unresolved issues around Brexit
    Wojciech Bedyński

    At the session of the Polish parliamentary commission for liaison with Poles abroad on 24 February 2021, deputy vice head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Paweł Jabłoński informed about latest data on the EU Setllement Scheme. He declared that out of 903 thousand Polish citizens who applied for settled status, 662.800 thousand were approved […]

  • Brexit happened!
    Brexit happened!
    admin

    Brexit finally became real after a long process of negotiations concluded finally on the 24th December 2020 with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed by both parties and ratified by the UK and the council of EU ambassadors. This came four years after the referendum in which the British citizens decided that they wanted their […]