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Original poster

Disgusted at how the UK government will charge EU nationals £65 and no iPhone app

779 replies

Rosepetalgeranium · 29/12/2018 08:30

Even if someone has been here working hard and paying tax for decades they will have to pay £65 to stay and there's only an android app to apply not even an iPhone app!

OP posts:
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8
swingofthings · 30/12/2018 09:44

Mummyoflittledragon, the difference, once again, is that you accepted from the start you needed to be registered. Not having to be so what was distinguished the UK from other places and made the country appear more welcoming and open-minded. It is one of the reason I chose to come and live here. Now, it's lost that appeal, which is what many Brits wanted to detract from new comers making a home in this country but it also means those who have done so and contributed to the economy also feel rejected.

I’m not pro brexit but a lot of the people saying I’ve been here 20 years blah blah, why haven’t you got citizenship already?
I looked into it and really intended to do so, but the costs always put me off. I'm not riched, always worked FT but most money going on making sure my kids had what I wanted them to have. Paying for citizenship meant giving up on a holiday. Considering until now there were no reasons to do so, I prioritised the holiday.

Since this all Brexit and feeling unwelcome y the government, I don't feel the wish to become British any longer because doing so would be lying. Hopefully this will change again. In the meantime, I am taking it as it comes, and despite having made my life here and would be happy to stay for the rest of my life, I might decide that the UK is no longer the place I want to live in.

Quietrebel · 30/12/2018 09:48

Many areas who voted overwhelmingly to leave have been economically and socially deprived for decades
Yes, quite aware of it. However the equation Desperation= Leave is the result of lies and manipulation, which I find especially despicable. Can you see? A population already struggling being told lies by the same party that put them in that position in the first place! Brexit is nothing more than kicking them while they're down and somehow managing to get the people to do it to themselves.

Quietrebel · 30/12/2018 09:51

swing
Why would you say becoming British would be lying? If you're entitled to it there's nothing dishonest about it.

Mummyoflittledragon · 30/12/2018 09:58

swingofthings
You’re wrong. I had no idea I would have to pay and to register each time. The process felt pretty demeaning and weird the first couple of times actually. I described upthread about my first experience in France running around getting special stamps and then I had to jump through some other hoops. It was a right faff. I didn’t have a choice unless I wanted to fail my degree or divorce. So no. I didn’t have any choice in the matter.

swingofthings · 30/12/2018 10:13

Quietrebel, it would be a lie because right now, I don't feel too British. Then again, many who are dont feel it either !
Mummyoflittledragon, is it that you didn't know but that the process was in place or they changed the process after you were there. My understanding is that this was always in place.

It's not the registering that is the issue for me, is what it means. Registration in France and Belgium is not a result of a referendum that was voted to get foreigners out.

Vagndidit · 30/12/2018 10:17

To all those suggesting that the frustration lies not in the token £65 charge but in the continuous movement of goalposts, well yeah, in my experience that's how the Home Office has rolled for years. I arrived here 10 years ago from a non EU country. Our family has paid upwards of £10k in fees, NHS fees, naturalisation fees that KEPT going UP in order to remain legally and contribute to the economy, all the while being reminded of having "no recourse to public funds" meaning if our jobs went tits up, there would be no security blanket to fall back on, and we'd be sent home. Friends from my country who arrived a decade before me had to pay squat in comparison to the fees we've encountered over the years. But we've held our tongue and paid them, because we feel this is the right place for us for now But yeah, about those goal posts. Hope those that are moaning about £65 weren't on the LEAVE campaign.

planespotting · 30/12/2018 10:20

Hope those that are moaning about £65 weren't on the LEAVE campaign.
Surely not Blush
Only EU citizens would have to pay and they were not to vote.

DGRossetti · 30/12/2018 10:33

Only EU citizens would have to pay and they were not to vote.

You have to wonder how many more wheezes we can come up with to vote for other disenfranchised people to be made to cough up £65 ?

Quietrebel · 30/12/2018 10:37

I know how complex non EU immigration rules are. I have in fact more friends from non EU countries than from the EU and I've always thought it's not fair to keep people in such uncertainty. EU citizens like me were lulled into a false sense of security so when the ref happened it was a huge wake up call to me and I knew I wouldn't be happy with 'just' residence. The level playing field idea is not wrong but the answer is not to treat everyone worse! How about turning that bloody system into something logical and reliable instead?

Vagndidit · 30/12/2018 10:40

Hope those that are moaning about £65 weren't on the LEAVE campaign.
Surely not. Only EU citizens would have to pay and they were not to vote.

Plenty of Irish citizens in the UK were eligible to vote in the referendum

twofingerstoEverything · 30/12/2018 10:49

Hope those that are moaning about £65 weren't on the LEAVE campaign.
I doubt it. The Leavers are more likely to be the ones comparing the situation with settlement costs for non-EU countries and saying it's not very much money or asking why EU nationals didn't apply for citizenship sooner. I was married to a non-EU national for years and lived in his country. It was repeatedly suggested to me that I should take citizenship of that country. Thank goodness I didn't. Relinquishing your own citizenship/nationality, especially if dual nationality is not an option, is not something to be done lightly. One of my friends there was Swedish and had relinquished her own nationality. She was widowed in her forties and wanted to go home, but couldn't. It was awful for her.

I daresay the people suggesting that EU nationals should have requested citizenship earlier are people who see being 'British' as some sort of wonderful prize. Well, it's not a very good prize now we've voted away our own entitlement to freedom of movement, is it?

coldheartwarmhands · 30/12/2018 11:05

I daresay the people suggesting that EU nationals should have requested citizenship earlier are people who see being 'British' as some sort of wonderful prize

Not at all - in my case, the question came from exactly the opposite motivation. Why would anyone choose to live in a country where their welcome and status was dependent on political good will and with the type of moving goal posts described in a pp by Vagndidit? And if, despite that, they do really want to stay, then why not secure their rights with citizenship?

I know people who have moved here say that they felt welcome, and that the Referendum result was a shock, but as someone who was born and and lived here for over 45 years, I've always been aware of tension in communities where immigration is less common. If you live in London or other metropols, then it may not be evident, but market towns in the shires have never welcomed those from other countries in my experience, no matter how much they contribute to society. Knowing that, there was always the risk that the political goodwill would run out, and the public's opinion would be reflected in policy.
The referendum merely gave people a legitimate voice, an opportunity to say what had otherwise become socially unacceptable to say.

TotesEmoshTerri · 30/12/2018 11:11

Why would anyone choose to live in a country where their welcome and status was dependent on political good will

Why would anyone choose to do anything when there could be a war, major epidemic, etc.? You operate in the world as it exists and most people don't spend their time second guessing the foundations it's built upon. I bet very few people here have diversified their assets into separate currencies and previous metals either.

We've been members of the EU and its earlier forms for decades. Most people weren't assuming half the population would go nuts and destroy the modern foundations of our country as can be seen in the total lack of preparation for the prospect

MissionItsPossible · 30/12/2018 11:12

Thank God I'm a dual Aussie myself so I can hide the deep shame of my British citizenship...

Ahh, yes. Australia, that great bastion of a country that welcomes immigrants with open arms! Remind me which country has the stricter rules on immigration again? Hmm Said it before, but Brits flouncing over this issue then announcing they are moving to Australia is akin to Brits flouncing over British animal cruelty and then announcing they are moving to China.

TotesEmoshTerri · 30/12/2018 11:14

Also you're going down a dangerous path with your thinking since it suggests people of other creeds or colour should consider their position here carefully lest overt racism becomes "official policy" when the "goodwill" runs out. That is no way for us to behave as a country.

MissionItsPossible · 30/12/2018 11:14

That was to @WonderWoman2019 comment

planespotting · 30/12/2018 11:18

I know people who have moved here say that they felt welcome, and that the Referendum result was a shock, but as someone who was born and and lived here for over 45 years, I've always been aware of tension in communities where immigration is less common. If you live in London or other metropols, then it may not be evident, but market towns in the shires have never welcomed those from other countries in my experience, no matter how much they contribute to society. Knowing that, there was always the risk that the political goodwill would run out, and the public's opinion would be reflected in policy.
The referendum merely gave people a legitimate voice, an opportunity to say what had otherwise become socially unacceptable to say.

I think this is true

coldheartwarmhands · 30/12/2018 11:22

Also you're going down a dangerous path with your thinking since it suggests people of other creeds or colour should consider their position here carefully lest overt racism becomes "official policy" when the "goodwill" runs out. That is no way for us to behave as a country.

I think they'd be foolish not to! I'm personally horrified by the extent of suppressed xenophobic attitudes which have become apparent in the last 2 years, BUT - I acknowledge that my views are probably in the minority, for the moment.
Somehow, British society has developed into one which majoritively does not welcome "outsiders" - and I would be very concerned if political policy failed to reflect the views of the majority of the people.

The question is, what can be done to change this culture for future generations?

Quietrebel · 30/12/2018 11:22

@Coldheart

Are you in fact saying we should have understood the country better and known we were never welcome, just tolerated because that's what the establishment imposed on the people?
That's even more depressing than I ever thought.
I've lived in different parts of the UK, including a small market town and never once felt that, which is what gives me hope. Maybe I was blind.

Maldives2006 · 30/12/2018 11:23

A lot of these people you talk about have already been here for decades paying taxes, National insurance, VAT and road tax. This scheme gives the impression their contribution has not been valid or worthwhile

This is a disgusting scheme and should only be relevant to people wishing to move to the U.K. post Brexit.

Maldives2006 · 30/12/2018 11:26

It apples to people who have already lived here for decades Hmm, if the EU had decided to do the same there would have been uproar. Where in fact the EU have been completely reasonable and said that nothing should change for British citizens living in the EU

TotesEmoshTerri · 30/12/2018 11:26

The question is, what can be done to change this culture for future generations?

For all the politicians and voters who saw the value in cooperation and unity in the 60s and 70s, it'll probably take the memory of a catastrophic war, sadly. Modern society has a serious case of "I'm alright Jack" as it hasn't acutely felt the pain caused when we all turn against each other and we're all vulnerable as in a major war.

coldheartwarmhands · 30/12/2018 11:26

@Quietrebel Im pleased you have felt welcome and have not faced negativity and racism.

I do think the country has always been polarised about this issue, but I think many of those with negative views have kept them hidden until recently.

DGRossetti · 30/12/2018 11:27

This is a disgusting scheme and should only be relevant to people wishing to move to the U.K. post Brexit.

The governments dirty little secret is that it couldn't do that. Bluntly even now, it has no idea who should be in the UK and who should not. In fact even more basically, it has no idea who is here at all.

DGRossetti · 30/12/2018 11:28

Where in fact the EU have been completely reasonable and said that nothing should change for British citizens living in the EU

that may not be true in the event of a no deal.