New year, new beginnings. The UK is set to break up with the EU on January 31st, 2020 and by doing so, they might be one of the only people who actually stuck to their New Year resolutions.

After a long period of  four years, three prime ministers, endless political rallies, referendums and debates, Brexit is finally underway. Basically the UK is every Indian Aunty saying goodbye. 

As the UK jabs at its former family, ‘ See EU later…’ economists ponder upon the effects of this step. The broad consensus is that the exit from the EU will affect the economy and per capita income of the United Kingdom. Another important sector that is set to face ramifications, is the immigration sector.

As a European Union Citizen you are allowed to live and work in any other EU country. But as UK moves out of the EU, how will this affect the country?
After all, there are limited resources to go around. The UK provides a vast business hub for the EU, however if it does becomes too populous, its jobs and resources will find themselves scarce and residents will face the wind. Most people think that more stringent immigration policies is the best solution. Admittedly, it sounds like a useful method if your kids work or study in different parts of Europe, and you don’t want them home.
However that’s not the most fool proof of strategies.
The UK is currently home to around 3.6 million EU nationals, who account for between 4% and 30% of the workforce in every major sector. That’s a huge chunk of population to miss out on and the effects of simply not allowing them in could prove to be detrimental for businesses.
And the UK is smart enough to see this. They’re pushing for a system that restricts free movement of EU workers but also retain access to the single market.
The UK aims to control the type and number of people entering and settling in the country. This means a bigger push for skilled workers and a collective block on unskilled immigrants.
As for Visa requirements, a lot is set to change.
Basically, this means that people looking to work in the UK would need to apply for a visa to come into the country. Once the initial one year period is complete, one would require to leave the country and wait for another year before re-applying for a new visa. And looking at the fact that most people move to the UK for a better job stability along with more opportunities, this new law might be under some flak.
Additional restrictions that are set to be introduced plan to control the situation too. You cannot bring your family with you to when you move to work in the UK. And provisions that allowed access to public funds will also be discontinued.
My family and I moved to the UK in 2014. We all went with my father who worked in the UK. We went to public schools and had access to the NHS. We lived there for two and a half years before we moved back to India.
Under the new laws, families like us will live very different lives. As per the new laws, we probably wouldn’t be able to accompany our father and his duration of living in the UK would be drastically reduced.
A lot of new things are to come under the blanket of Brexit. Laws are under constant flux and a lot can change. Whether a no deal is announced, amendments are framed, or politicians simply have a change of heart, nothing can be considered to be a fact until laws actually come into place.
Brexit signifies a new time for the UK, and only time can tell how it will change the face of the country.

-Adyesha Singhdeo

 

Sources

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit https://www.freemovement.org.uk/new-immigration-rules-for-visitors-to-the-united-kingdom                                                                    /https://www.immigrationdirect.co.uk/blog/citizenship/how-will-brexit-affect-uk-immigration/                                                                                                                         https://www.statista.com/statistics/692957/brexit-influence-on-immigration-gb/