Who are the British in Europe post-Brexit and how do they see themselves?

The report “Identity, Belonging, and Representation Post-Brexit among British citizens among British Citizens in the EU/EEA and Switzerland” by Tanja Bueltmann draws on a detailed survey of British citizens living in Europe to review the impact of Brexit on British citizens’ sense of identity and belonging.

Through qualitative research, the author explores how Brexit has affected how individuals understand and identify with their nationality, as well as their perceptions of representation in the UK and Europe.

Main findings and key themes:

• Survey respondents constitute a relatively highly mobile group, with around a third having previous migration experience.
• A plurality of respondents moved to the EU/EEA/Switzerland for work and/or personal reasons, such as moving with a partner/family.
• Only 17.7% of survey respondents moved to the EU/EEA/Switzerland to retire, providing further evidence that the common characterisation of British citizens in the EU as a group primarily comprised of ‘expat retirees’ is misleading at best.
• 76.6% of respondents plan to live in the EU/EEA/Switzerland permanently.
• 65.7% of respondents agree that Brexit has increased the likelihood of them staying in the EU/EEA or Switzerland.

The study also highlights the complexities of national identity and how this has been challenged and reshaped by Brexit.

Download now: Identity, Belonging and Representation Post-Brexit

For more facts and figures related to British in Germany see here.

British in Germany e.V. is run by volunteers all giving their time and their expertise for free. We therefore value your membership for 15 Euros a year, which goes towards expenses incurred in running the organisation. You can join here.

As you may have heard in the news recently a decision has been made in the British High Court that EU citizens with pre-settled status will not lose their status if they do not apply for ‘settled status’. The Home Office confirmed that it will not appeal the High Court ruling that found that mandatory re-application is unlawful.

British in Germany is delighted that the threat of EU citizens losing their rights has been removed from the 2.6 million EU citizens in the UK who currently have pre-settled status. For more on the story and the background to the case go to the 3 million webpage.

This is also good news for British citizens living in the EU countries that have taken a similar “constitutive” approach to Withdrawal Agreement rights.   (Constitutive meaning the requirement to re-apply for citizenship status post Brexit)  Otherwise, there would certainly have been a risk that those EU countries, where re-application is required, might consider themselves justified in taking a similar line to that of the UK. Germany took the declaratory route rather than the constitutive, (declaratory meaning no requirement to re-apply for status post Brexit), so risks here in Germany are much lower.

For more background on the story in Germany see: https://britishingermany.org/2020/07/20/posttransitionupdate/

According to the UK Government, the number of concluded applications to the EU settlement scheme by July 2022 was 6,473,830.  Of those, 51% (3,281,950) were granted settled status and 41% (2,627,770) were granted pre-settled status. There were 306,300 refusals, 133,000 withdrawn or void outcomes and 124,560 invalid outcomes in the same period, representing, combined, 9% of total outcomes.

After the social drought of Covid, British in Germany members finally met face to face on 19th November to discuss the future direction of the organisation post Brexit.   Members from Munich, Leipzig, Braunschweig, Berlin, Hamburg and the UK came together for the day and the consensus was we should do it again soon. 

Members acknowledged that in the 5 years of the organisation’s existence, BiG has shaped and influenced the history of British lives in Germany and that that was something we should publicly acknowledge and celebrate.   

Going forward, key issues such as Dual Citizenship, Life Long UK Voting Rights and Youth Exchange were discussed and proposals made for working groups to be created on such different themes.

Thank you to all members for their contributions, including fantastic florescent blue cake (above) made by Rachel.

If you’d like to learn more about the organisation or become a member, don’t hesitate to sign up here:

Join or donate to British in Germany e.V.

or be in touch at 

membership(at)britishingermany.org

British in Germany e.V. stands in solidarity with all refugees arriving into Germany.

If you have the space, means or funds to help support the thousands of refugees arriving presently from Ukraine, you can contact any of these organisations below for more direction and information.

Please write to us at info(at)britishingermany.org if you’d like us to add other refugee support organisations in Germany.

National:

German Red Cross

Flüchtlingshilfe Deutschland

Bavaria based:

muenchner-freiwillige

Solidarität mit der Ukraine München

Bayerische Flüchtlingsrat

Berlin based:

Berlin Hilft

Wir Helfen Berlin

Ukraine Hilfe Berlin e.V. 

Spendenbrücke Ukraine

Berlin Chancellory Information

General information for Ukrainians arriving into Germany

Information from BAMF