EU citizens offered financial incentives to leave UK

[EddyF]

Is it unreasonable to think this is quite offensive?

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/26/eu-citizens-offered-financial-incentives-to-leave-uk

How much support are you aware of?

The community charity I have worked with for the last 20+ years has been given additional funding and support to help EU citizens* who are not yet through the SS system to decide what they want to do, to understand what the reality is and how/when they need to make a decision.

There are many such local charities across the UK doing the same thing. They've been here for decades, doing exactly this sort of work.

• and non EU citizens, but that's a different story.

No, it's not offensive. There are loads of homeless people in the UK from Europe. This would help them to get back home and sort something out. I see regular posts on FB about people from my home country getting into crappy situations here and people are collecting money to get them home.

@CuriousaboutSamphire there was a lot but likr with any other stuff, many didn't know where to look ir couldn't access it. We had people reporting retirees not knowing how to do it. In some places people were offering their smartphones to use. I think some embassies should have done bit more too. It's ridiculous that new passport would take 6+ months to sort pre covid. It is however, on the other hand persons own fault for letting the passport or id expire.

No. It’s up to them to take it or not

It's not enough to sway someone's decision about whether they want to go or not. Just enough to enable it if that's what they want.

It has been the final piece in the decision for a quite a few clients who had decided that they probably would go back but couldn't save up enough money.

It isn't much, but it seems to be enough to make a difference for some who are not doing well here.

If I was stuck here with either no paperwork or waiting on an application, but miserable, I'd find this (and the support CuriousaboutSamphire is talking about which may involve this) far better than waiting on hoping something would get better or hoping the embassy of my birth country would repatriate me (which some countries force people to take out loans to cover the costs to do, whereas this could cover the plane ticket and then some).

It's not saying "fuck off back to where you came from!'", it if you're in a precarious, vulnerable possibly illegal situation, we can support your return, possibly to where you have a better support network or a country obligated to do more for you.

The Home Office fucks up a lot, but not this. I mean the list of people includes victims of modern slavery. Some of them come from the EU. Do we really want to say it's offensive for the government to have this framework for them and anyone who similarly might need help to leave just because it involves giving money to help people leave the UK?

@SushiSoozie

It's offensive because it comes across as 'Here, take the money and fuck off back to where you came from!'

So you would prefer if they said "Oh you hate it here and would like to go home but have no money? Well fuck off, because we had a programme to help you but people said it was offensive so we canned it. Go die on a street corner"

Yes, that is less offensive.

Yep that's exactly what I meant.

As a migrant EU citizen I find it offensive. But the racists say it isn't, so it mustn't be. Lesson learnt. Bit like they 'go home' vans. They weren't offensive either.

It also makes economical sense to help leave rather than force.
"From 2010 to 2019, voluntary returns have outnumbered enforced returns. The Home Office has a preference for voluntary returns (Bolt, 2015, p. 2), in part because its research shows that the average cost to the government of a voluntary return is £1,000, compared to £15,000 for an enforced return (Home Office, 2013, p. 4)."
migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/deportation-and-voluntary-departure-from-the-uk/

I'm no racist. I work, and volunteer, for support groups.

What is my opinion worth, based on my experience?

I'm not saying nobody sees it as offensive, but it has been very welcome by many.

@FatCatThinCat but it's not "here take the money and fuck off".
As a migrant EU citizen I find it offensive. But the racists say it isn't, so it mustn't be. Lesson learnt. Bit like they 'go home' vans. They weren't offensive either.

No. Racists aren't saying it. People who understand what "voluntary return" is are saying it.

Honestly, Guardian did such a fucking clickbait there. Even DailyMail is clearer about these things usually! Shame on them

As a migrant EU citizen I find it offensive. But the racists say it isn't, so it mustn't be. Lesson learnt. Bit like they 'go home' vans. They weren't offensive either

I'm a support worker for homeless people, and a migrant EU citizen, and brown. I didn't know I was racist, thanks for telling me.

Did you even know this programme existed? Are you basing your opinion on any actual knowledge, or have you just read the OP or the article and deciding based on that? Because it appears to me that you don't know anything about it yet have a very strong opinion on it.

It’s not offensive. If you think it is you need to actually look into it to quell your ignorance.

I doubt racists would even want foreigners to be given money - they'd just want people to "f* off home" and find their own way, whatever it is.

So people saying this is good for those who need it and find it helpful are likely not saying it from a racist pov.

Even 3 million is clarifying it on their facebook. I thought guardian was on "our side"🤦

There are migrant workers from the EU stuck in the UK at the moment with no income, few friends and no ties here. They want to return home as was always the plan just CV hit and shit hit the fan. It's a helping hand to return "home".
The alternative to beg, borrow or steal

Similar things are being offered from the EU for UK citizens. One of mine is considering it.

Curious it was incredibly obvious by early November that we were going to have a major second wave of COVID. Our Trust started preparing then, which is why we are currently in relatively good shape re staffing and preparedness.

So at that point, the government could and should have acted. They didn't, because they were so up their own arse about the joys of their Brexit that they didn't bother.

Most EU countries have a similar scheme that UK citizens are now eligible for. Are they all racist too? Is that offensive?

pointy the point I was trying to make was that this was always going to happen about now, when we left the EU.

It has nothing to do with covid.

The rest of the government continues to work on non covid things, this is one of them.

And yes, my parents and an uncle and his partner looked at a similar scheme to come back to the UK.

Basically it's saying we'll pay for you to go voluntarily as it will help us to manage to throw the others out when time comes.
Not only offensive but bloody racist.

I think some people find it offensive because it hit them that we are now on oar with 3rd country nationals and some just won't like it🤷🏻

Basically it's saying we'll pay for you to go voluntarily as it will help us to manage to throw the others out when time comes.Not only offensive but bloody racist

It is not, at all. Had you ever even heard of this before today? I'm going to guess not. So maybe listen to someone who's known about it for many years, and actually worked in it?

Ye gods. Look, it has existed for years. It has always been open to people who got here and found that the streets really aren't paved with gold.

Yes, it's cheaper to give a one off cash payment than it is to house, counsel and aid someone to stay.

But there are quite a few people who take the payment every year and go home.

Signposting people to this has been part of my job for the whole of this century!

I've seen people return to many, many countries. This is just the natural extension of the fund to allow EU nationals the same opportunity post brexit. Not to do so would be discriminatory!