EU citizens - have you prepared?

[Elfsie]

In a few weeks my journey to becoming a British citizen will be complete. It has taken 6 months and the best part of £2000 to get there, but it was worth it to put my employer at ease and retain/ enhance my right to vote.

For almost 15 years I have put up with paying taxes here without having a real say. I do not trust the signing-up scheme that is supposed to come into force after March, if the citizenship application is anything to go by. 3 simple questions, my arse.

My only regret is that I haven't signed my children up to becoming citizens at the same time, but I hope that they will be protected by the way of me already being one when the shit hits the fan.

It's a drastic step and while I will retain dual citizenship for a few more months, I will eventually have to give up my original citizenship in favour of a British one. How has anyone else prepared?

Irish citizenship application for my dd - we (dh and I) are both already Irish citizens because we each have an Irish born parent.
DD's cousin already has succeeded in application via my late mum.

Yup. Took 18 months but all terminated a year ago nearly.

Yes, in light of this level of hostility it's that or leave:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-immigration-sajid-javid-home-secretary-slash-brexit-a8685646.html

By the way, the article I've just linked, if confirmed, would mean - not that EU citizens are put on an equal footing with the rest of the world as that would be ok- but that non EU citizens are effectively 25 times better (10,000 EU a year target vs 250 000 non EU already settling here every year, it's 25 to 1, simple maths). And it comes after the disgusting 'queue jumpers' comment. For anyone who's not got really permanent ties here I'd seriously think about this.

I’m confused about Sajid Javid - from the link above he’s as nutty as May about immigration but the Spectator has been running positive articles about him saying he’s nothing like that. He was Remain. So he plans to slash low and medium-skilled EU immigration to encourage low and medium-skilled immigration from outside the EU or what? Does anyone understand this please?

www.spectator.co.uk/2018/12/the-sajid-javid-manifesto/

www.spectator.co.uk/2018/09/the-rise-of-sajid-javid/

I wouldn’t be placing too much faith in The Spectator being straight-up

Talkstotrees: Yes, but sensible Conservative I thought. They’ve been clearheaded in support of women re Trans (see Feminist Chat).

I am not prepared to lose my Dutch citizenship so no naturalisation for me and my DDs. We are financially in a position to leave the UK and would rather do that.

Bodoni
What makes it sound rather nasty is that the article specifically mentions cutting the number of both high and medium skilled EU immigrants. Now let me remind you that in Home Office speak skills= salary. 'Medium' skilled under that definition actually affects jobs like nurses and academics for instance. As for high skilled, I thought we were gagging for the best and brightest so how on earth do you justify that?
Methinks the hostile environment might simply be shifted from one lot of migrants to another. Great.

Quietrebel: I absolutely don’t justify it. I’m desperately worried as I have EU family living and working here. I read the following about SJ in the Spectator interview and thought maybe here’s a ray of hope. (Btw I’ve never voted Conservative but support Heseltine, Ken Clark, even John Major in the present circumstances).

“[Sajid Javid] would count as an ‘anywhere’ rather than a somewhere, perhaps even a ‘citizen of nowhere’ — one of the many May-era phrases (like ‘hostile environment’) that he himself never uses. As Home Secretary, he doesn’t pretend to have any enthusiasm for her target of reducing immigration to ‘tens of thousands’ each year.”

I admit to being confused at the contradiction.

bodoni
I was not implying that you were justifying it! Apologies if you thought I did.

No problem Quiet!

Not yet. I can't afford to naturalise and if I do I lose my ability to pass on my nationality to my DC (I will probably do it when I've finished having DC).

Going to renew my Italian passport as it expires soon ( first available date is after brexit!!), hope and pray they are not lying about settled status being easy to get, and then do all the paperwork to get DS Italian citizenship (he's only got a British passport).

I am also struggling to sleep and prone to tears these days. I feel 'rejected' I guess, I've been here since I was 5 years old ffs.

This is shocking. Words fail me. This guy made his money with Deutsche Bank when he , himself, took advantage of Freedom of Movement. What hypocrite!!

I'm not even sure if I want to stay in the UK anymore in the future. I'm Dutch too but thankfully one of their only dual nationality exceptions apply to me so I'll apply for British citizenship with a sigh of relief

Dual nationality for the full family and a pack the tent holiday instead of a ‘proper’ one this year to partially pay for it. Felt very humiliating and I hate the anti EU and anti immigrant sentiments so actively looking if we want to up sticks. Not so easy when you’ve put down deep deep roots

leyani

I've thought the same but then can you guarantee that wherever it is you're going won't turn out to be just as bad in a year or two? The issues facing the UK are global. Rising nationalism, inequalities etc.
If you've grown deep roots as you say (and as have I) it'll be a huge faff to up sticks and you might still find similar issues elsewhere. Unless we get a bad crash out no deal- that would actually be worth the effort to relocate.

Hopefully many other countries will see the disaster that is unfolding in the UK and understand WHY it is happening and with a bit of luck avert the Worst of the problems.

I have a friend from the EU who has lived in the UK for 20 years and is married to a British man. I presume she will have to apply for settled status, but will her UK born children also have to apply?

Yep, we prepared by moving back to Germany 18 months ago, after 20 years in the UK. It was hard work but it's the best decision we ever made, the uncertainty and the hostility would have driven me insane if we had stayed.
Good luck to everyone who is staying!

raisinsraisins no her kids are British born