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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think ending Freedom of Movement on Oct 31st is a disaster waiting to happen

140 replies

chomalungma · 20/08/2019 17:27

There are several million settled EU citizens who haven't applied for settled status yet.

What happens to companies who want to recruit foreigners after Oct 31st? What bureaucracy has been set up?

It's a disaster waiting to happen. Will we have people who live here refused entry? Only given a few months on an entry visa?

I hate the country we have become.

OP posts:
IAmALazyArse · 21/08/2019 00:30

Applying for citizenship must be planned in advance. The PR, or now settled status, +1 year on them, Life in the UK test, English test if needed, put application together... Takes a while.

@SaskiaRembrandt congrats to her on citizenship!

Toneitdown · 21/08/2019 00:56

I don't think that people with settled status will be chucked out, but I do think it will be an administration nightmare and cause a huge heap of unnecessary problems for a lot of people.

I'm buckling in for a big shit show ...

Atropa · 21/08/2019 02:38

Workers have every right to worry. Employers in my profession have already been put under huge pressure to ensure their employees have proof of right to remain. I have gained citizenship recently - the whole process, from applying for PR to the actual ceremony - was 6m, so it can be done in less than a year, with enough proof. I had documents going back to 2012, so had 6 years +, which was enough to proceed straight after getting PR granted.

I worry about one of my children, though, who is an EU resident only and still well under 16. Has attended school here all their life, but other than school reports there is no proof of residency - no bills or tenancy agreements include children. I don't have the spare £1,000 to apply for citizenship on their behalf with a non-refundable fee. DH (British) is now adopting and we hope that will settle things, but that process is a burocratic nightmare, too, and may not be completed before Brexit happens. I wonder how many children are in the same position?

Songsofexperience · 21/08/2019 05:59

Applying for citizenship must be planned in advance. The PR, or now settled status, +1 year on them, Life in the UK test, English test if needed, put application together... Takes a while.

It takes a while but it can be much quicker. If you've been here for 10 years and have a straight forward case, your permanent residence card should be dated 2014 (5 yrs between 09 and 14). Then you can apply for citizenship straight away on the basis of at least one more year on top of that.
The only waiting time would be the Home Office processing time (no idea how long it currently takes).

Ninjasan · 21/08/2019 06:24

Permanent residency is not difficult to get and was only£65 when I got it. I think it's even cheaper and easier to get now. I'm from EU and in my country anyone living there needs documents or being registered. It's normal to have a document confirming your right to reside there. Only in UK it seems to be a massive problem for people.
It's not difficult but some people just can't be bothered so choose to complain.
I got residency and then citizenship. Yes, it was a bit of a hassle but not worse than in any other country in EU.
I didn't find it upsetting. Try living in other countries without any documents or ID...
I just should have done it long time ago (it was much cheaper.

jcurve · 21/08/2019 06:57

You cannot just apply for British citizenship like this. The first step had to be made at least 12 months in advance, i.e. she had to be a permanent residence card holder for at least 12 month before actually applying for British citizenship.

Not if you are married to a Brit. I got ILR and citizenship in 3 months as there’s no 12 month wait if you have a British husband/wife.

Atropa · 21/08/2019 06:59

@NinjasanYou make it sound far too easy. I used to have an ID card in my country of birth and it was cheap and easy to get. Around €70 iirc.

When I applied for PR a year ago (having lived in the UK for well over a decade, always paid tax etc.) the document to be completed was 80 pages long, required proof of all tenancy agreements, bank statements, tax documents and so much more far beyond the 5 years such documents are advised to be kept for. Luckily I keep paperwork longer, but it was still a big hassle. I then paid for pictures, processing, postage, copies.. to receive a 1940s-style card back.

To gain citizenship you then provide the exact same documents again, even though they should be on file already. Plus proof you speak sufficient English (fair enough) and a citizenship test with irrelevant questions and which most British people would fail. I paid around £2,000 for this, all in and one of my colleagues ended up with an over 10k bill.

Now my child can either go through the same (how does this even work for minors when the parent didn't have the 1k per child at the time) or we go through the more complicated, but vastly cheaper, adoption route.

I also have to renounce my old citizenship.

It really isn't that simple and I fear for what happens to my DC if the adoption doesn't go through in time.

IDontDrinkTea · 21/08/2019 07:07

It’s definitely causing fear. My DH applies for his SS last night (he previously hadn’t bothered as he has PR and is in the process of applying for citizenship) and there was a queue for the website. A queue! How many thousands of people does that involve!

FinallyHere · 21/08/2019 07:08

And all this so that a few really seriously rich people can continue to keep their money in off shore trusts without needing to worry about paying tax

Supported by people who have been taught to blame the impact of the governments years of austerity on the EU. Wonder what they will blame it on, when the EU is no longer around as a convenient scapegoat. Or will we all just be so tried and downtrodden from trying to scratch a living that we won't have energy to care or do anything about it.

And as for the neglect of NI, it beggars belief.

aurynne · 21/08/2019 07:13

And all these posts are about people who have been living in the UK for 5 years or more. What exactly is going to happen to EU citizens who are on 1-3 year contracts started when EU citizens had freedom of movement? There are tens of thousands of people in this situation, plenty of post-docs in universities among them. Are they all going to be kicked out and their contracts terminated?

Ninjasan · 21/08/2019 07:20

@Atropa I don't think it should be easy to get another's country citizenship. Try Australia or Singapore.
Any there is no need for a British passport . Residency is enough and it's not a lengthy process anymore. No 80 pages forms (not all of them relevant to EU citizens).

Nannyamc · 21/08/2019 07:53

Southern Irish here
This is all a complete mess no one seems to know what is happening to us all. Plans here are for a crash out on 31st October severe consequences for both us and uk. Boris and his blundering is not helping. If this is to go ahead very careful planning needs to be done and it won’t happen by October 31st. I would hate to see trouble return to NI it needs its own government back and fast. The Uk voters need to vote again as I don’t believe the true story was clear in 2016. Then whatever the people decide should be upheld. Years of planning will be needed. This situation is not good for Uk Ireland north or south or the EU.Boris is not the man to do this but I do not know who is. S are times ahead for all of us!!!

Nannyamc · 21/08/2019 07:55

Scarey

IAmALazyArse · 21/08/2019 08:26

@aurynne no they won't. And there is also pre settled status they can get if they are here less than 5 years.

@Songsofexperience you are right. But be careful anyone because SS dates from when it's awarded, unlike PR. Which is annoying.

IAmALazyArse · 21/08/2019 08:28

Dod HO say anything else about ending FOM except that they will be doing criminal checks? Because that's the only difference between now and thenI caught on in the articles so far.

WeshMaGueule · 21/08/2019 08:48

I'm in France and haven't needed any specific ID for over a decade. I'm now going to have to find the time to put together the massive PITA application file involving time-sensitive and expensive sworn translations (average expenditure about a thousand euros) and spend at least one day queuing at the prefecture while working full time and parenting two small children fr a carte de séjour, and then all over again for nationality. If I can manage to book a slot online, which in itself takes months. Angry

Jebuschristchocolatebar · 21/08/2019 08:49

@Nannyamc I reckon those explosive devices found on the Fermanagh border yesterday wouldn’t have made it into the mainstream news outside NI and ROI. The general population who voted leave haven’t a clue what Brexit will do to peace in Ireland. It makes me said to think we could return to the NI of my childhood memories rather than what it is now.

yellowallpaper · 21/08/2019 08:55

Isn't there a Brexit section for this type of question?

Theworldisfullofgs · 21/08/2019 08:56

Windrush mark 2.

Nothing is written down anymore (or ever) regarding Brexit as it all falls apart at scrutiny. Johnson's plan is to blame the EU.

Original poster
chomalungma · 21/08/2019 08:57

Isn't there a Brexit section for this type of question

It's an important subject that is going to affect many people in a few months.

Why hide it away in a specific area - unless you don't want it to be discussed in an area which has a lot of traffic?

OP posts:
IAmALazyArse · 21/08/2019 09:03

Uk should at the very least reciprocate the gesture some EU countries did. Few already legislated that UK citizens living in there will be absolutely fine. I have expected, so did the countries imho, same thing here for citizens of that countries.

LellyMcKelly · 21/08/2019 09:04

The whole thing is an utter, utter, shitshow, and I still can’t beelieve a supposedly responsible government has led us to this point. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

LellyMcKelly · 21/08/2019 09:06

And make no mistake, the IRA and UVF never went away. This is the excuse they need to restart their campaigns.

nowayhose · 21/08/2019 09:13

Meh.................. so over all the scare stories and gloom and doom. I'm deliberately not keeping up with what our new PM and the government are wittering at the moment as I don't believe for an instant that he will do any better in obtaining a deal.

We're gonna get what we're gonna get folks, and no amount of wails and hand wringing will chance things.

As for the people who have not applied for settled status, I'm sure they have their own reasons (and what they are is none of our business !)

Again.............Meh..............

Original poster
chomalungma · 21/08/2019 09:16

There are plenty of older people who don't have access to the internet, don't have smartphones and who may well be unaware of the changes.

I can see them being refused medical treatment because they haven't got settled status.

Unintended consequences...

Still, some people can just put their fingers in their ears.

OP posts:
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