Background
The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union has left EU migrants resident in the UK uncertain about their long-term legal rights of residence and participation in the labour market. According to the latest ONS estimates, there are around 2,795,000 non-British EU citizens living in the UK, of which 1,437,000 are from the ‘new’ member states (ONS 2016). In the run-up to the Referendum on EU membership this team of researchers has conducted an online survey to assess the opinions of EU migrants regarding the Referendum, and investigate their planned actions in case of a ‘Brexit’ (Ethics number: 18482). The present proposal is a continuation of that previous study, focusing the attention on a selected number of questions relating to the option and process of civic integration (through permanent residence and naturalisation as British citizens) of EU migrants in the context of Brexit.
The rationale for the study emerged in a context where the media is reporting increased numbers of British citizenship applications by EU citizens (Henley 2015; Hughes 2016; Morris 2015). In their qualitative study, Pietka-Nykaza and McGhee (2015) reported considerable uncertainty amongst EU migrants in Scotland associated with the announcement that there would be a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. It was the potential renegotiation of EU freedom of movement rules in particular that resulted in some of their participants considering applying for British citizenship despite the financial costs and time-commitment required by the process (see also King and Lulle 2016, Morris 2015, Sachrajda and Griffith 2014). Our pre-Brexit survey has also indicated that 64% of EU migrants are planning to apply for British citizenship a one point in the future, and many are planning to do so in the next five years. The possibility of Brexit was also shown to increase the percentage of EU migrants who would opt for civic integration, even in cases where migrants are planning to leave the UK in less than five years if their EU rights are not threatened (Moreh, McGhee and Vlachantoni 2016). Such perspectives raise theoretical questions about the ‘meaning’ of British citizenship for EU migrants (Morris 2015), and also practical questions about its social, political and economic consequences. The outcome of the EU Referendum and the uncertainty caused by the Brexit process has made the issues addressed in our previous survey even more relevant. Building on those findings, the follow-up survey has the aim of disclosing the reasons, expectations, anxieties and the processes of naturalisation decisions. The study will focus on:
- the respondents’ views of the advantages and disadvantages of the naturalisation process;
- their thoughts on the option and possible consequences of obtaining dual nationality;
- their concerns regarding the implications of Brexit for their rights and obligations within the UK;
- the process of decision-making in family contexts.
Design
The research will comprise an online survey questionnaire targeted at adult EU migrants living in the UK. The tried and tested survey design from the pre-Brexit study will be used, with an updated and reduced number of questions relevant to the post-Brexit circumstances. For comparative purposes and based on the results of the earlier study the questionnaire will be translated into three or four other EU languages besides English.
The survey questionnaire will be uploaded on isurvey and the link to the survey will be distributed through migrant community organisations and online communities. The entry-points used in the previous study will be relied upon. Each organisation will be approached by email or other messaging service, where the project aims and the organisation involvement (i.e. distributing the link to online survey through all their members) will be explained in detail. Also, the link to the isurvey will be advertised on migrants’ community online networks and websites, in which case first contact will be made with forum moderators/organisers and permission will be sought to distribute the link to the survey.
References
Henley, J. (2015). “Rush for dual-nationality passports as EU migrants fear Brexit,” The Guardian, 17 August 2015. Available here: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/17/dual-nationality-passports-eu-migrants-fear-brexit-european-union-referendum
Hughes, L. (2016). “Applications for British citizenship rise dramatically in the run up to Britain’s referendum,” The Telegraph, 1 April 2016. Available here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/01/applications-for-british-citizenship-rises-dramatically-in-the-r/
Lulle, A. and King R. (2016). “‘Brexit’, Eastern Europeans and tactics of belonging.” Paper presented at the workshop The spectre of ‘Brexit’: Free movement and European citizenship in question, 17 June 2016, University of Southampton.
McGhee, D. and Pietka-Nykaza, E. (2016). “From privileged to thwarted stakeholders – Polish migrants’ perceptions of the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014 and the UK General Election in 2015.” Citizenship Studies 20(6-7), 899-913. doi: 10.1080/13621025.2016.1191430
Moreh, C., McGhee D. and Vlachantoni A. (2016). “Should I stay or should I go? Strategies of EU citizens living in the UK in the context of the EU referendum”. ESRC Centre for Population Change Briefing Paper no. 35.
Morris, M. (2015). “More EU migrants are becoming British citizens – but why would they bother?,” New Statesman, 20 February 2015. Available at: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/02/more-eu-migrants-are-becoming-british-citizens-why-would-they-bother
ONS (2016). “Household population levels by country of birth and nationality.” User request data, Reference number: 005446. Release date: 4 March 2016. Office for National Statistics. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/adhocs/005446householdpopulationlevelsbycountryofbirthandnationality
Pietka-Nykaza, E. and McGhee D. (2015) “Stakeholder citizenship: the complexities of Polish migrants’ citizenship attachments in the context of the Scottish independence referendum.” Citizenship Studies, 20 (1): 115–129. doi: 10.1080/13621025.2015.1054789
Sachrajda, A. and Griffith, P. (2014). “Shared ground: Strategies for living well together in an era of high immigration.” London: Institute for Public Policy Research. Available at: http://www.ippr.org/assets/media/publications/pdf/shared-ground_Oct2014.pdf
Related publications
