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Another Brexit Externality: Au pairs Wanted, Still not Allowed

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 of their children. Unfortunately, the new visa rules do not take the European au pair system into account so many British parents have started considering which of them gives up work. “Brexit killed our business,” Cynthia Cary of the Rainbow Au Pairs agency said.

Migration was one of the key topics of brexit campaign. Au pairs are one of its victims. Since Britain´s definitive break with the EU, young Europeans wishing to get to know the country´s culture and improve their English need a work visa. To obtain it, au pairs must now earn a minimum of £20,000 (€23,341), which is significantly higher than the £5,000 per year typically given in the past. This low pay was acceptable with regard to free accommodation and meals provided by the host family in addition to salary. For the comparison, the cost of a British nanny is at around £2,000 per month, which is prohibitively expensive for most British families.

Cary explained since January her agency had seen applications fall by 90% – the same proportion of au pairs that would normally apply from the EU. Under the current regulations, the only foreign nationals who can work as au pairs are either Europeans who arrived in the UK before Brexit or nationals from nine countries including Canada, Australia and Japan under a youth mobility scheme. The pool of candidates from these remaining countries does not come close to filling the usual demand for 45,000 au pairs in the UK every year, the British Au Pair Agencies Association has said.

According to Zuzana Sekeráková Búriková of the Sociological Institute, Slovak Academy of Science, the author of the well-known book Au Pair, it is very hard to tell what happens next. “The UK migration officials do not reckon the country depends on foreign caregivers,“ says Sekeráková Búriková. “There will certainly be a crisis in this area. The point system applied in visa issuing process after brexit prefers workers with higher qualifications. Britain will certainly need to find ways of opening itself to the child or senior caregivers. “

However, Sekeráková Búriková reminds there is no guarantee the UK will open up to the Europeans, including Slovaks. It is even less likely the au pairs´ income would grow enough to meet the minimum level for a work visa. The UK agencies have even asked their government to extend the mobility scheme so the EU countries are included – with no response yet.

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

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 those with the highest danger of infection with COVID 19. Since Brexit Great Britain is not part of the system and falls automatically within the red category with accordingly strict regulation of travelling (at least five days of quarantine in the Czech Republic additional to two weeks back in the UK) Authors of “We demand reasonable regulation of travelling from Great Britain to Czechia” which is a title of the petition. want the Czech minister of health to change the status of the UK from red to orange. To support their cause their present data showing that the situation in the UK is similar to Denmark or the Republic of Ireland. As a reason to consider the UK as an EU country, they quote fifty thousand Czech nationals living in the UK for a long term.
The petition available online gained 1658 signatures in eight days. The highest number of petitioners (according to their self-declaration) are coming from Londen (250), Prague (78) and Manchester (51). Petitioners could also add a comment to the publicly visible forum- the majority of them missed their families on both sides or expressed anger that they are treated as “second class citizens” and demanded fair conditions of travelling.
The Global pandemic showed us how fragile the transnational lifestyle is. Individuals could develop strong social bonds in several national states. Brexit strengthens the effect of the pandemic on the life of Czechs living in the UK. When in 2020 we interviewed Czechs living in the UK, they did not feel worried and did not believe that travelling could get more difficult. Global pandemic and different treatment of EU countries by the Czech Ministry of Health is one thing that we could not imagine yet it influences the lives of individuals.

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How does a young Slovak family evaluate life in Britain?

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 opportunities. Therefore, the husband left for Britain first, and later his family came to see him in England (Luton). That was, a wife and a daughter in this time.

Upon arrival, they experienced a minor culture shock. They were surprised by two faucets in the sink – one with hot water and the other with ice water. It was the first thing they changed when they moved in. They also could not get used to having rules for everything. For instance, you cannot take children on holiday or to Slovakia during school year unless it is something very serious. After five days, you get a fine of £ 60 per child.

However, they were pleasantly surprised by help from neighbours. When their car broke down and the husband had no way to get to work, a neighbour lent them his old car. They did not expect it because they did not know anyone.

In their opinion, the United Kingdom is a very tolerant country, thanks to which they did not have to give up anything, nor do they find our Slovak customs bizarre. Children do not feel unequal. They have English at the level of classmates, sometimes even better. If they did not have the suffix -ová after the surname, probably no one would find out that they do not come from England.

Maybe it is just that almost all European children are a little more polite. As our Slovak parents have guided us, we lead our children, e.g., to always greet each other. Young Englishmen miss it a bit. However, the English are very nice people. Even if they think badly of you, they will not say it and will behave properly. They have no negative experience with them. Rather, they try to help and advise them.

English seem to love their country as it is. They would not exchange the architecture of traditional houses for any modern bungalow. It has its charm, literally every house preserves a piece of history. People enjoy it more and complain and criticize less. They try to keep up with the trends, even the older ones.

According to the respondents, Slovakia is a beautiful country, they like to spend summer here. They definitely want to return to Slovakia one day, but they are not really thinking about it now. Brexit and its effects are not directly felt, and they do not feel any uncertainty.

Living abroad taught them independence. Thanks to this, the children learned fluent English. And they evaluate their lives in England as being satisfied with the quality of life. Their story and life strategy show that you can live elsewhere than in Slovakia. It is up to us which direction we choose.

Source: https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/663434/slovaci-v-anglicku-bohati-ludia-sa-nepovysuju-a-deti-sa-neboja-pisomiek/

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

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 do not appear in the statistics: they work seasonally and circulate between Hungary and the UK).

Brexit happened, that is a fact. But how does it will affect the everyday life and employment opportunities of Hungarians living in the UK? If we take into account the opinions of the nearly 30 interviewees we have asked in 2020, then we could say: in general, by no means. In most cases, we heard responses such as: “It doesn’t affect my future life here at all” or “It will only be difficult for those who come to England after Brexit. I’m safe”. Under to the rules in force today, Hungarians (and other EU citizens) who had been living in the UK before the Brexit became official (31 January 2020) or during the subsequent transitional period (between January and the end of December 2020) can easily arrange the necessary paperwork which allows them to stay in the UK, without any restrictions. First, they must apply for settled status or pre-settled status by 30 June 2021 (former applies for those who has been living for more than 5 years in the UK and the latter for those who has been living less than five years in the country). According to our respondents, this process is not particularly complicated; it can be done simply and quickly, on line or by using an application. In case any problem arose, they could rely on the efficient help of officers, administrators.

What if I wish to work in the UK after the Brexit?

It seems that staying and working in the UK should not be a problem for our compatriots (or for other EU citizens) who has arrived before the Brexit, including unskilled workers. However, the new regulations in force from 2021 brought about serious limitations, which concern potential migrants, so let’s take a look at the main changes.

As Paul Fox, the UK Ambassador to Hungary mentioned, after the Brexit a new point-based system will be applied to assess employment applications for EU citizens, including Hungarians. He pointed out, that “after Brexit, we had to restrict free employment in some way. And this applies not only to Hungarians, but to all EU citizens equally. It is a system that ensures equal treatment. It is different from the previous system, when anyone was free to take a job.”[1] In the new point-based system the most important thing is to have an actual job offer (20 points), but equally crucial the degree of education of the applicant (20 points). In addition, there is a strong emphasis on whether someone speaks English (10 points). The other points can be obtained with the salary levels corresponding to the promised position or with more marketable diplomas (e.g. PhD). The potential employee has to score seventy points to get a work permit. “With the point-based system we want to find the best workforce and attract them to our country, which is why qualification is very important in valuation”, told Fox.

The new system allows potential migrants to apply for various visas. The “top” visa category is the Global Talent visa, which allows highly skilled workers to enter the UK without a job offer, suggesting that the legislature is confident that they will find a job anyway. A Skilled Worker visa requires at least B1 level language exam and a job offer corresponding to the qualification. In addition there is also the category of skilled labor: the Healthcare visa, which is treated separately due to labor shortages in the UK in health and social sectors. In sum, the above mentioned types of visa are available to skilled workers, who have job offer, and speak English.[2]

What if I wish to study in the UK after the Brexit?

First of all, tuition fees for Hungarian (and other non-UK) citizens will increase drastically from the 2021/22 school year. In addition, it will no longer be possible to apply for a student loan. Who decides to study in the UK must apply for a student visa, which means an additional 812 £ (about 870 €) extra cost. Furthermore, no agreement has been reached on the mutual acceptance of higher education diplomas. In practice it means that diplomas of EU citizens who have already worked or studied in England before 1 January 2021 will continue to be automatically accepted. However, those arriving after 1st January 2021 are required to have diplomas recognized by the appointed UK authority, which is a significant change. In addition, the United Kingdom will not participate in the Erasmus program in the future (they found it too expensive). As a result, the number of foreign (and thus Hungarian) students in the country may decrease. [3]

In the further phase of the research our task is to find out what changes (if any) Brexit brought to Hungarians living in the UK.


[1] Author’s translation. Source: https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20210125/tudtuk-hogy-sok-minden-mas-lesz-a-brexit-utan-es-ezt-a-magyarok-is-megerzik-majd-466424

[2] https://telex.hu/kulfold/2021/01/14/brexit-mivel-jar-angliai-magyarok-cegek-diakok-turistak

[3] https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20210125/tudtuk-hogy-sok-minden-mas-lesz-a-brexit-utan-es-ezt-a-magyarok-is-megerzik-majd-466424

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

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 side).  

The previous post about the Czech Republic described the blasé attitude towards Brexit of Czechs living in the UK- so far none of our fifteen interview partners were personally worried about their future in the UK nor they expected any major change in their lives. But speaking about Brexit with people from Central Europe is a way to uncover a broader experience of migration and hear similar stories that were used in the LEAVE campaign. 

All of our interview partners remembered the Brexit morning shock- they did not believe that Britons will vote LEAVE. This shock is connected also to the image of tolerant, multicultural and open British society that the Czech interview partners shared. Czechs also tend to live in urban areas where the LEAVE campaign was not that successful. Either they personally did not know anyone or just a few individuals that voted for brexit. What was surprising was that the majority of our interview partners have understanding or even agreed with the common reasons for Britain leaving the EU (however these common reasons might be far away from the real political effects).

I can understand that there is this old guy from this small Scottish village and he goes to his pub and it is full of foreigners and he does not feel at home anymore” said Jakub, who used to work in a hotel in Scotland. “At least now they will be able to control migration from Africa, because this country is already full,” said stay-at-home dad Jan. 

More than a half of our interview partners declared either that there are too many migrants in the UK or that some migrant groups do not work or threaten culture  or life in Britain in other ways. However, these “bad” migrants are never Czechs- who were always (self)depicted as hardworking and unobtrusive. 

When Jakub was telling how he goes to the pub with other Czechs we had to ask if he thinks that this group of Czechs can possibly make an elderly local man feel not at home? “Hm, you are right…but we are not that loud and we know how to behave.” These, that do not know, how to behave, are always a different group- migrants from Africa, Romania or even from Poland (because “Poles stick too much together and they isolate themselves from the wider society” believes Lucie- caregiver and student.

Not just that Czechs are never the bad migrants, they even do not know any personally- even among their friends who are also migrants. These bad, undeserving, isolationist migrants are just somewhere there. 

This vision of migration was not shared by all of our interview partners- more nuanced understanding of ethnic relations have those that have a training in social sciences or have a closer knowledge through their work: “Majority of beneficiaries are born in the UK.” said Michaela who works for municipal social services provider.

The confidence with which Czechs were facing Brexit was based on a belief that everyone has to see that Czechs are the hard-working and therefore desirable migrants and that both the public and politicians must recognize that they are essential for the British economy.

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

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 took place online and in those done in spring 2020, most of the interviewees were preoccupied with the new coronavirus and circumstances resulting from its outbreak rather than with Brexit. Consequently, they were inclined to see the importance or impact of Brexit on their lives considerably reduced. We dare to imply this with reference to the interviews from early 2021, in which Brexit seemed to play a more important role in people´s lives (again).

According to the official figures based on various statistics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are app. 84 thousand Slovaks living in the UK. The number that the expat organizations have arrived at is slightly higher, app. 100 thousand. In 2019, before the actual Brexit and before Covid too, there were thousands of Slovaks worrying about possible negative impact of Brexit on their lives in the UK resulting in their considerations of return to Slovakia, the Slovak Embassy in the UK says. However, current statistics do not show materialization of these plans, even despite the fact mentioned above, i. e. people taking Brexit into account more intensely now than a year ago.

The most striking parallel between the Slovak interviewees we have talked to so far concerned the major milestones on the path to their present status of the EU citizens settled in the UK. Regardless their current occupation, all of them came first as au-pairs, including the males, with original intention to stay for 6-12 months, learn/improve the language and come back home to try the university (again). Instead, they studied in the UK and now all have attractive, rather high-ranking, and well-paid jobs in a tolerant multicultural environment. This gives them a steady anchor in the country and makes it easy for them to ignore scarcely occurring verbal attacks of unimportant strangers trying to send them away. Along with the UK´s specific charm (or London´s, for Jana), their spouses found in this “promised land” have caused that some have had children, and all are planning both near and far future within the British Isles. Despite that, however, most prefer keeping their Slovak passport as, according to Miro, “the British passport has become worthless not only due to Brexit.“ By the way, Miro is the only one considering leaving the UK, but not repatriation.

Those who emigrated before 2004 and so had the (repeated) experience of the “second-rate immigrants“ forced to undergo lengthy and rather humiliating procedure at the border, were quite emotional about the prospect of its coming back as a result of Brexit. The younger ones, like Mirka, were more relaxed about the idea of Brexit in general, but still insisted on their EU rather than UK citizenship. The reasons include their vivid relationships with the family, visits to the home country, wish to travel to other EU countries freely, and even Mirka´s potential return home for retirement. However, at the prospect of the new Slovak double-citizenship legislation, this issue will soon become irrelevant.

There is one more aspect that deserves a special focus. Stano enjoys the UK´s tolerance toward the queer people, which is a big contrast to the conservative majority in Slovakia. Interesting enough, his gay identity was not the reason that led him to the UK at the time of his arrival.  Now, however, it is one of the key items on the list of things that keep him there and prevent him from coming back home.

All in all, Slovaks in the UK we have talked to have observed and adapted to Brexit well. They do not intend to leave the UK now and are enthusiastic about building their lives in the country which has given them the opportunities they lacked at home. So far so good.

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

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 in the Geographical Institute RCAES as an intern. He graduated as geographer of Cambridge University and currently studies at London School of Economics. His internship was financed by the NKFIH 2020-1.2.1-GYAK programme.

The population of Hungary is considered relatively immobile in European comparison. Based on the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, since 1989 approximately 350 000 Hungarians moved abroad. Importantly, neither the economic collapse after 1989, nor the country’s EU accession in 2004 induced significant out-migration. It was the 2008 global economic crisis and its local consequences which was followed by increasing out-migration.[1]

The availability of reliable data about emigration from Hungary is limited, the mirror statistics of destination countries provide a basis for a realistic estimation.[2] The published estimations about the number of Hungarian emigrants oscillate between 195 000 and 335 000 in the 18-49 age group.[3] Among the main factors of out-migration from Hungary the multiplied household debts[4], unemployment, and low salaries were mentioned, however in the surveys conducted after 2010 the unfavorable career perspectives and the general political atmosphere were also mentioned.[5]

In the post-2008 period a significant change can be observed in the destination countries as well. Traditionally, the main destination countries for Hungarian nationals have been Germany and Austria, due to historical links and geographical vicinity. Prior to 2008, the United Kingdom was not among the favored destinations, which is reflected in the Eurostat statistics: in 2004 54 714 Hungarian national lived in Germany, in contrast to the 6021 registered in the United Kingdom.[6]

Hungarian grocery in the UK. Source: http://wemagazin.com/lifestyle/erdekesseg/bevallalosabbak-a-londoni-magyarok.html

Based on the calculations of Chris Moreh (2014), both the stock and flow numbers of Hungarians increased between 2002-2014.[7] He estimates the number of Hungarians in 2014 at around 80,000 and approximately 110,000 in the last few years.[8] According to the data of United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics the number of Hungarian residing in the UK has reached its peak in 2017 (98 000) and drop to 77 000 in 2018.[9] In their analysis Gellér-Lukács, Töttös and Illés estimated the number of Hungarians in the United Kingdom between 80 000 and 150 000.[10] The online magazine Portfolio estimated the number of Hungarians in the United Kingdom both in 2017 and in 2018 at around 250,000, based on an analysis of EU statistics and bank transfers.[11]

The Annual Population Survey (APS) estimated the number of people born in Hungary and residing in the UK at around 100,000 in 2019 (many experts and observers found this number underestimated).

However, taking into consideration various UK databases, it seems probable that the number of Hungarians permanently residing in the UK was around 100,000 in 2020. Nevertheless, we assume that additionally there was a sizeable group of Hungarian citizens, who remained undocumented, worked seasonally and circulated between Hungary and the UK, – and simply did not appear or remained invisible in the statistics. This might explain the huge discrepancies in data reported by different estimates.

Stock of Hungarian migrants to the UK (thousands), Source: Office For National Statistics. Edited by Katalin Kovály

Regarding the geographical distribution, more than half of the Hungarian population was concentrated in London (16 000), South East (17 000) and East England (11 000) in 2018.[12]

Relatively few research investigated the Hungarians living in the UK, mainly analysing on-line surveys[13] and/or interviews.[14] These studies found that the majority of Hungarians landed in the UK to seek employment, however the number of university students show a significant increase in the last couple of years.

We are excited to share more details about the Hungarians living in the UK with you in the upcoming months!

Notes


[1] http://www.iom.hu/migration-issues-hungary

[2] Gödri, Irén – Soltész, Béla – Bodacz-Nagy, Boróka (2014): Immigration or emigration country? Migration trends and their socio-economic background in Hungary: A longer-term historical perspective. Working Papers on Population, Family and Welfare, no. 19. Hungarian Demographic Research Institute, Budapest.

[3] See Moreh, Ch, 2014, citing: Blaskó and Jamalia 2014, Kapitány, Rohr 2013.

[4] Moreh, Ch. 2014: 85.

[5] Kováts, A. 2014

[6] Moreh, Ch. 2014: 80.

[7] Moreh, Ch. 2014:87.

[8] Moreh, Ch. 2014.

[9] Office for National Statistics, 2019

[10] Gellér-Lukács, É. Töttős, Á., and Illés, S. (2016)

[11] https://www.portfolio.hu/gazdasag/20180527/nem-hogy-megoldodik-tovabb-no-az-angliai-magyarok-rejtelye-286742

[12] Office for National Statistics, 2019

[13] Kováts, A. – Papp. Z. 2016

[14] Michalkó, G. and Irimiás, A. 2018

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Brexit?- Nothing Interesting for Czechs (So Far)

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, we will describe the main paradox of our work and our findings.

In fall 2020 halfway through our research, it seemed that there is nothing to do research about at all. None of the Czechs with whom we talked thought that Brexit will influence their lives and they had not much to say about it.

Czech migration to the United Kingdom is much less visible than Polish migration in scale and in impact. According to an estimation of the  Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were less than 100 000 thousands Czech citizens living in the UK in 2019. Therefore Czechs are not that visible or compact group among migrant communities in the UK and also their issues are not paid much political attention in the Czech republic.

However, Czechs create a digital community on social media that we use to recruit our interview partners. The recruiting process was smooth (meaning that we posted an announcement that we would like to speak with Czechs about their experience of Brexit)- people that fit all our categories (gender, education, region) were willing to speak with us. During spring and fall 2020 we spoke with fifteen men and women who had lived in the UK for between two and nineteen years. Independently from what was their education or career in the Czech Republic they worked in the UK as au-pairs, flight attendants, caregivers or psychotherapists and lived in cities across the United Kingdom.

Traditional smoked meat is shared, sold or admired on Facebook groups of Czechs in the UK.

No matter what was their profession, length of residence or marital status they felt that Brexit was not a crucial topic for their lives and they did not expect any important changes. “The queues at the borders might be longer, but otherwise I do not expect any changes for me,” said Káťa, an accountant living in Birmingham. “After I got my settled status I stopped following news about Brexit,” said Lucie, who works as a caregiver in Scotland.

Reason, why Czechs were not worried or even interested in the changes, might be that all of them declared that they had moved to the United Kingdom because they wanted to live outside the Czech Republic and all of them genuinely liked British culture, lifestyle and believed in British political system and British multiculturalism. Their positive and self-assured position was a matter of trust in British politicians that they will at the end solve the question and also trust in their place in the British society that these politicians will protect.

Therefore Czech migrants downplayed the negative experience that they had after Brexit. “Some drunk man shouted at me one evening at the bus stop, that I should go home,” Káťa told me. “One customer was murmuring about too many migrants in England” recollect Jakub, who is working in a betting agency in South England. But they both refused to interpret the stories as harmful for them or that it was a sign of a shift in the public atmosphere. “It was only once and he was drunk, you can´t take things like this seriously” or “At the end, he turned out to be a nice man and we had a laugh together”. Both these interview partners together with others believe that the United Kingdom is a more tolerant country than the Czech Republic, they enjoy its multicultural nature and therefore they tend to overlook experiences that do not fit into this perception.

What was specific about the first stage or our research that the interview was speculative rather than descriptive, “What will you do if…?” “Do you have plans?” “What do you think Brexit will look like?”

…together with traditional pastry (source: Češi a Slováci v Edinburghu FB group)

In the next few months, we will go back to some of the interview partners and will look for new ones to describe how they actually went through the Brexit process and how their life looks like now.

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Unresolved issues around Brexit

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 and 164.220 thousand more obtained pre-settled status. There were also 6,162 new British citizenships granted to Poles between 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2020 (gov.uk). Number of granted citizenships severly fell during the lockdown in spring 2020.

Number of application nearly reaches estimated number of Polish citizens actualy residing in the UK, but as Jabłoński said, that there is however a group of several thousand or mayble more who have not sent the application. Among this group there are some who for various reasons were unable or unwilling to do so. Many of those are people affected by homelesness or without any valid ID document – Polish nor British.

On 15 March 2021there was a Zoom conference organized by the Social Scientists Against the Hostile Environment group (https://acssmigration.wordpress.com/) on “Brexit, citizens’ rights and the hostile environment: Uneven stakes, unheard voices and unresolved issues beyond the headlines”. The speakers were describing the uncommon cases affected by Brexit, including Roma citzens of Central and East European countries who migrated to the UK after 2007, children of non-EU citizens born in a European country who later moved to the UK or people who lack mental capacity.

Among all these groups there are people with Polish citizenship who have not made their application for settled status. Brian Dikoff presented a paper on the EU Settled Status Scheme and EEA citizens living with mental health issues giving several examples of people whom his organization helped. These cases are escaping the system and their legal status could be questioned if they do not manage to apply by 30 June 2021. There are some non-governmental organizations, like the Migrants Organise (https://www.migrantsorganise.org/), which are trying to help these people with making their application on time.