Many EU citizens living in the UK could experience the consequences of Brexit in an uncomfortable way in the coming weeks and months.
London - "There are a number of problems that can happen," said migration researcher Jonathan Portes of the German Press Agency before an important Brexit deadline at the end of June.
In the worst case, citizens who have not taken care of their right of residence in good time could have to leave the country.
The so-called EU settlement program is intended to guarantee EU citizens living in Great Britain largely the same rights as before Brexit - such as the right to live and work in the country, but also access to the health system and social services. There are also similar programs for Britons living in EU countries, for several, like in the United Kingdom, the application deadline is the end of June.
After this period it will show how well the new systems work in reality. According to experts, a problem could be that EU citizens in Great Britain can only prove their right of residence in digital form in a relatively complicated way. "The government has made it clear that there will be no physical evidence," said Catherine Barnard of the UK think tank in a Changing Europe. “There is no document that you can hold under the nose of your employer or landlord.” This could lead to acceptance problems, as they are obliged to have potential tenants or employees prove their right of residence.
However, the consequences could be even more devastating for those who missed the deadline and thereby lose their right of residence. "We don't know how many have not applied," said Barnard - Britain has no register of EU citizens living in the country. Civil rights organizations are particularly concerned about the elderly, the sick and the homeless. Some of these people are not even aware that they have to apply for a new status, or the digital application process is a problem for them. According to experts, hundreds of thousands have not yet submitted an application. If they fail to do so by June 30th, they should expect to be expelled.
The London government announced that it would also accept applications later if there were “understandable reasons” - but what falls under this is a matter of interpretation. By the end of May, more than 5.6 million EU citizens had applied for the settlement program - 5.27 million applications had been accepted. (dpa)