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1.3 million have returned to their countries because of the coronavirus and this puts their status on the Island at risk
Thousands of Europeans living in the UK but returning home due to the coronavirus crisis in their home countries may lose their right to stay on the island due to a prolonged absence. This is how the non-governmental organizations that defend the rights of Europeans in the United Kingdom warn after Brexit.
“It is difficult to know exactly how much will be affected as there is currently no register of European citizens living in the UK. But we know that there is no plan that has been 100 percent successful. Therefore, there will surely be people who will lose their status. Even if we accept very optimistically that the plan will be 95% successful and that there are only 3.5 million EU citizens in the UK, there will still be
175,000 people,
who will lose
putting them
be immigration statute
for one night on July 1, when the application deadline is due. That’s more than the people at Oxford, “said The Right to Stay.
That is why they are campaigning for the British government to change their policy so that everyone in the UK the moment you leave the EU is automatically granted residency status without having to prove a certain length of stay. .
Currently, two types of permits are issued to European citizens located in the UK. Those who can prove that they have resided legally for 5 consecutive years receive permanent residence status, and those who have lived less on the Island – temporary. However, the condition is that they were in the country for the last 6 months before the start of Brexit at the end of last year. Something that many Europeans could not do because they returned to their countries due to the coronavirus crisis. Some have lost their jobs because their companies have closed and have decided not to pay high rents, others have chosen to be with their families in these difficult times.
According to the British authorities, 1.3 million foreign workers left the UK last year, which is
The longest
departure of people
after the second
World War
They argue that an absence of more than 6 months from the country due to the pandemic should not affect applicants for temporary residence, but there are guarantees only for those who demonstrate that they delayed their return due to having coronavirus, it was necessary to remain in quarantine or to be examined for contact with an infected person.
NGOs have conducted research and produced a report on the subject to draw the authorities’ attention to the most common problems. It occurs in her
example with
Bulgarian woman who
arrives with
your friend
in 2016,
work on an English farm. Later, the two found another job in Manchester. Anna became pregnant and decided at the beginning of the pandemic to return to Bulgaria so that she could enlist the help of her relatives in the baby’s first days. However, due to travel restrictions, they did not return to England until December 31, 2020 and thus lost the right to apply for temporary residence, despite having worked legally in the country for several years and paid taxes.
The report claims that even Europeans in the UK are unaware of the complex system for sourcing a stout. A study by the Joint Council on the Welfare of Immigrants found that one in seven Europeans working in the welfare sector does not understand it, and one in three does not.
there is a deadline for
request
until June 31
It is also not known to the British public. Various employers, landlords, schools and even services have started demanding residency status from European citizens when entering into contracts with them, although they cannot do so until July. This makes NGOs worry that many people who cannot resolve their status by mid-year for some reason will be expelled through the so-called hostile environment, as they will be denied any service. And even if the authorities don’t start deporting them right away, they will be forced to leave.
To date, 4.9 million Europeans have applied for residence status and 4.5 million applications have already been processed. However, only 53% of them have received full status, which means that the remaining almost two million will have to be very careful temporarily not to be absent from the UK for the next 5 years if they want to stay in the country for long. . finished.
Alena Ivanova:
Bulgarians will no longer be able to come for several months.
They must be at least half of each year, he says the campaign manager of the British organization “Another Europe is Possible”
– Mrs Ivanova, you are one of the authors of a report on the problems of Europeans in solving their situation in Britain after Brexit. What are the most serious?
– First is the short application period. It expires at the end of June and many people still don’t know what to do. There is no help for people who do not speak English and do not use modern technology, and the application is made through a mobile application. The state itself is then accessible only through it, and you will need it for almost any activity in the future.
– Provide online advice to compatriots on how to obtain status. Are the Bulgarians okay or will many have to leave after July?
– It is very worrying that most of them are engaged in seasonal jobs or have a poorly established life in the UK. Due to Brexit, they will no longer be able to come to work for a few months and then return to their families in Bulgaria. If they want to have permanent status and enter the country without a visa, they must settle there.
– About 60% of Bulgarians receive temporary status. What risks does it present?
– It is issued so that they can obtain the required 5 years of stay in the UK and be able to apply for a permanent one. However, for this to happen, they must show that at least six have been to the Island every 12 months. Many of our compatriots do not understand this. They believe that having a temporary status, everything is fine. They do not realize that they need to monitor their presence in the UK and, above all, document it. We believe that due to the pandemic, many people have even exceeded the time allowed for absences and after 5 years they will not receive another status. Hotel, restaurant and shop workers, for example, returned en masse to Bulgaria after they were closed.
– Is it possible that some will be detained at the border this year if they return?
– It is unlikely, because the rule is that status is lost after 2 years of absence from the country, which actually misleads a lot of people. They think that they are entitled to this license even with temporary status, which is not the case if they want to continue living in the United Kingdom without a visa and after these 5 years that it grants them.
– There are more and more reports from intermediary companies requesting assistance on the status of non-Brexit Bulgarians before England. Prices of around BGN 1000 are also mentioned. Is it really possible for someone to receive the status if they haven’t set foot in the UK before the beginning of this year?
– This is only possible to join close relatives. For others, it cannot happen legally. We see a lot of people who used to work on farms, but for some reason they missed the last crucial year and are now trying to get back, but they have lost the right to status. Most of the time they are the victims of unscrupulous advisers and such scams are observed not only in the Bulgarian community.
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