EU People in UK: Thousands of people of the European Union living in Britain are facing a threat. Their residency status in this country may end.
EU Citizens in UK may lose the status of living in the UK – symbolic picture
Thousands of EU People May Lose Legal Status to Live in UK: Thousands of EU people living in the UK could lose their legal residency status. Marlis Haselton is also included in thousands of such people. They say that Britain was their country for more than 30 years for them. Marlis, a resident of Denmark, is married to a British citizen, has children and considers Britain an ‘important part’ of her life. Until Britain left the European Union, he did not even think that he would get migrant status in Britain.
Haselton, 55, is among millions of European citizens who have lived, worked and studied independently in Britain for decades, but their rights are no longer natural due to Brexit. The UK government launched a ‘Solution’ scheme for large numbers of European migrants in 2019 and the application deadline is Wednesday. Any expatriate from Europe (EU People in UK) who has not applied will lose their legal right to work in the UK, rent a house and access to certain hospital treatments or benefit from welfare schemes in the UK from Thursday. They can also be extradited.
Application date expiring in France
Meanwhile, this right of more than one million Britons, who have been enjoying the freedom of movement in European countries for a long time, will also end. The deadline for applying to stay in France after Brexit also ends on Wednesday. Campaigners in the UK are concerned that thousands of European citizens have not applied by this deadline. Many elderly people who have lived in the UK for decades are not aware that they have to apply and official figures show that there are only two per cent of applicants aged 65 or over.
Two thousand children are also at risk
Migrant rights groups say many parents don’t even know they have to apply for their children. About two thousand children living under the supervision of the Social Welfare Department are also at risk and their legal status can be taken away. Although Haselton has successfully achieved ‘solution’ status, meaning she can stay in the UK permanently, she says the whole process has left her insecure about her life in the UK. She said, ‘I am not feeling stable here. I am worried about the future. As a foreigner, I don’t feel safe here anymore. Here the sense of belonging has ended.
56 lakh people applied
The UK government says that about 5.6 million people have applied, mostly from Poland and Romania, which is much higher than the initial estimate. Half of them have been granted permanent resident status, but some two million migrants haven’t spent enough time in the UK to be granted status, so they’ll have to go through the paperwork again after five years in the country. Lara Parijoto, a member of The Three Million, a group fighting for EU citizens’ rights in Britain after Brexit, said nearly four million people are still confused as they await a decision.
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