Monday 23 January 2017

“That doesn’t affect YOU, you have been here for years!”




Hey, followers (if any), long time no see! Well, here I am again...

This is written for people I speak to, who seem to be unaware of how this Brexit bullsh*t is affecting me personally, not just as a vague concept of "getting our country back" and "saying no to Brussels" and other hollow sentences. This is where that sh*t gets REAL.

When I first arrived here in 1985, I still needed to register with the Home Office, which I did, and got my temporary residency permit. Then, in the next 18 months or so, the rules changed, and I no longer needed to apply for permanent residency, as an EU citizen, I was automatically granted permanent residency, but, here's the kicker, the Home Office didn't bother sending out permanent permits, because it was no longer necessary to have one. With me so far?

I have toyed with the idea of getting British nationality over the years, sure, but, well, it was never urgent, it was expensive, and I always had other things more important to do, and after all, what did it matter? I married my British love, our kids were British, we have a mortgage and one day, our house will be ours outright, and I have never been one to bother with nationalism, and flags, so what if I kept my French passport rather than getting a British one, it was not important.

Fast forward to, well, now. Post Brexit, not being allowed to have a say in the matter despite living here for over 30 years galled me hugely, and spurred me into action, and I decided to go for it, apply for British citizenship. It shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Ah ah ah (hollow laugh). Turns out that, behind the scenes, over the last few years, the goalposts have been moved.

For starters, since 2015, in order to gain citizenship, you MUST have permanent residency; despite the fact that you haven't needed it since 1986 or so. They quietly reinstated those rules for EU citizens, but didn't tell us.

Ok, so I'll apply for permanent residency, shouldn't be a big deal, right? I mean, I have been here over 30 years, paying taxes, National Insurance, I have bank accounts, a mortgage, a permanent address, kids, a British husband etc...

Ah. Well, the forms are 85 pages long. 85 pages long. Question after question after question, asking you to list every single time you have been in and out of the country (WHY?), where you've been, for how long... It wants bank statements, it wants to know every bit of your life detailed since you've been here. P60, P45, Piss Off... How have you been supporting yourself? Can you support yourself?

And, here's the absolute kicker of them all: Since 2005, yes, you read that right, 2005, every EU citizen resident in my kind of situation* in the UK MUST have comprehensive private health insurance. Say what, I hear you say? Yep, that's right. First I've heard about it. I also fail to understand how and why, when the whole point of reciprocal agreements is that I can use the local health services, and what's more, I have done so since 1985 without any issues.

I can also tell you that no-one, but absolutely no-one in my situation, EU residents in the UK, knew about it either. No-one was ever told. Not those who, like me, have been here before the requirement came in in 2005, no-one who settled in the UK after 2005. It is buried somewhere in the paperwork, and doesn't get pointed out or stated at any point.

And guess what, apparently, if you haven't fulfilled this criteria you weren't aware of, you cannot get permanent residency, and if you can't get permanent residency, you can't get British nationality. Ta-DA!

So there you go. As we speak, people like me are being turned away, are being refused what they thought would be a fairly easy piece of paper to obtain, for failing to have something they didn't know they were supposed to have, and which of course cannot be got retroactively. What's more, the same people, people like me, who never questioned their right to be here, are being told they need to make arrangements to leave the country, I kid you not.

There are 3 millions of us. 3 MILLION EU citizens who have settled in the UK, for work, for love, for whatever reason, and who suddenly do not know what the future holds for them. Let me tell you that it is terrifying.


*My kind of situation: Not having 5 years of *continual* employment, carers, stay at home parents, sick or disabled people, etc, etc. Please note that even if you have a British partner who has been earning enough to support the family, it does not count.