Are Post-Brexit Immigrants Truly Accepted in the UK Today?

[AmeliaC2001]

Ever since Brexit I feel this insecurity regarding ‘being’ an immigrant. Inside, I don’t actually feel like one, despite not being a UK citizen as of now. I moved to the UK as a preteen, not by choice, but because my parents wanted to move abroad. We lived in Central Europe prior to this. I’m not going to be specific for privacy reasons (it’s not Poland though).

I speak English better than I speak my native language to be completely honest. I completed the vast majority of my education (secondary school up to university) in the UK. Yet if anyone notices a hint of an accent due to me being a bit stressed or speaking a bit too quickly, I immediately assume they dislike me. It may sound completely unreasonable, but I went to secondary school at the height of the Brexit referendum and it was not pleasant to have it thrown in my face all the time (e.g. “after Brexit they’re going to deport you” and other comments along those lines).

I’m not saying adult conservatives would behave like this towards me now, years after Brexit, but I’m still wondering what your feelings are about those immigrants like me. Immigrants who remained in the country after Brexit. Immigrants who didn’t really have a choice when moving here. Immigrants who are very much traumatised after the attitudes certain people had around 2015-2019.

I don’t have any problem with any immigrants well that is because I am not a twat. I also hate the reform hate party and I hate the increasing of hatred that we have in this country now the intolerance of people because I rely on care workers and I can tell you the foreign care workers are looking after me.

Unfortunately immigrants are being scapegoated for everything wrong with society and I'm sorry you had those experiences.

That’s bloody awful and I’m so sorry.

I'm very sorry for the awful experiences you had during the Brexit period, OP. I think much of it was fomented by interested parties who had their own political or monetary agenda and they were pandered to by the right wing press.
Foreigners were a useful target. As far as I am concerned, we need immigrants in this country, always have and always will.

You are still more likely to meet someone who thinks immigrants are good for the UK than bad. That has narrowed recently, but not because of Brexit I think.

Also even amongst Brexit voters, ‘only’ slightly fewer than half wanted less immigration per se.

How most people feel about you personally is fairly unlikely to be related to your status as an immigrant.

To the extent it is, it’s more like to be positive than negative.

Though that might also depend on what you do and where you live, as well as what route brought you here.

Here’s the image I meant to attach to my second post.

When I meet immigrants like you my overwhelming feeling is, envy.
You have the golden ticket (an EU passport) and have a whole continent of opportunities available to you.

I am married to an immigrant who has lived here since long before Brexit. He has a very noticeable accent. What we have noticed since the Brexit campaign and vote, is that those who oppose immigration are far more outspoken, often offensively so, than before.

They will rant about immigrants to our faces, make clearly untrue claims about what immigrants are claiming/entitled to, and when we challenge them, as we always do, they will always backtrack with the bollocks ‘Oh we didn’t mean immigrants like you’ (my husband is white) or, worse in some ways ‘yeah, but you’re not really an immigrant’.

And I don’t think non-immigrants fully understand how the media vitriol and politicians’ language and actions about immigration impacts relentlessly on immigrants and their families, even those from countries or using immigration routes not directly being discussed.

So yes, it feels worse and far less comfortable in the last eight or nine years.

Unfortunately our Govs have been completely incapable of dealing with immigration - feelings will run high when a million people are moving here a year -where they are moving to I have no idea as there is little housing.
im sorry you are being made to feel unwanted but the situation is out of hand.

So a case of sorry not sorry @Pat888.

I'm sorry you feel this way OP.

For me it was one of the reasons to move back to my home country in the EU 5 years ago. I never felt quite comfortable for instance speaking my native language to DD.

You have the golden ticket (an EU passport) and have a whole continent of opportunities available to you.

I have a UK passport (two to be exact). Since 2020, I have worked in the EU more than anywhere else. Countries have included; Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

So, the suggestion that it’s not possible is UK passport holders to work in the EU is incorrect.

Yes, it's possible to work anywhere in the world with a UK passport. The idea that you seem to be trying to push is that it's still easy (as it used to be for UK passport holders) to just rock up in Europe and look for any job you could get. So bar work, factory work, supermarket, teaching, anything. We can still go to Ireland and do this but to suggest brexit makes no difference to our ability to live work or study in the EU is just a lie. Why would you want to try to pretend it's still the same?
Sorry, unless of course you really don't know. I do know some people who really do think FOM was only ended one way and they can still live in Europe exactly as they could in their home in Spain. They think its just that EU citizens can't just move here anymore.

So you voted for Brexit to turbo charge immigration? As it was always going to.
A friend of mine owns an IT company. One of his EU staff left after Brexit, feeling the same as you OP. Friend couldn't recruit, eventually got someone from India to come and do the job. This person arrived with wife and six children, two of whom had very serious disabilities. In fairness, brexit got rid of two people, not just one, though because bloke took his British wife with him (I don't know what she did for a job). We net gained six though. Four of these kids will grow up and probably do some sort of job themselves though so will also fill employment gaps eventually.

Oh and my friend complains this Indian bloke is shit at the job as well.

@Kendodd

Governments and employers in the EU can bend/circumvent the employment rules when it suits them.

The Gasunie project (owned by the Dutch government) in the Netherlands had more trades people from Russia and the Ukraine than anyone else. They argued there was a shortage of trades people in the Netherlands.

The local Dutch staff said that was a lie as they had relatives who could do the same work, but would cost more.

The same is happening on the INEOS project in Antwerp, Belgium. Trades people are being sources me from outside the EU as they are cheaper.

It was truly awful in 2017. I had people in fortune 100 company rolling their eyes when I answered the infamous WHERE ARE YOU FROM question. I completed my higher education here and I am a high rate tax payer for 25 ys now.
I grew up learning a lot about WWII and this was the subject that was constantly regurgitated in our curriculum. The mood leading up to Brexit and the aftermath sentiments very much remind me of pre-war build up. The young people of Germany are still dealing with stigma of “Die Schuld” - German Guilt to this day. I don’t know where is this all going but it is really worrying. I fear the UK will have a similar problem to the Germans if this hate speech does not slow down. To be ashamed of choices propelled by conceited gov’s in future generations like the Germans are set, I suppose, for eternity. The gov’s are not doing a good job and detract from their failures in controlling the borders, that much is clear and I agree. I suspect the British are too free in their spirit and like to oppose in their own quiet way - I love that trait by the way, they are not as pliable and compliant as the Germans so it might play out differently. It should not be up to the public attacking individuals though, until we see real improvement it is likely to continue.