Exodus of foreigners after Brexit in Great Britain | …

Around 1.3 million immigrants, mostly Europeans, have left the UK pushed by Brexit and the labor market freeze caused by the coronavirus pandemic. During this period, thousands of Argentines with European Union (EU) passports entered the island.

The pandemic hit London hard, a city with a high concentration of jobs that could not keep operating to prevent the virus from spreading. Hotels, museums, entertainment establishments and tourism-related services keep their doors closed. According to Center of Excellence in Economic Statistics (ESCoE), Funded by the UK government, up to 1.3 million foreign-born people left the UK between the third quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2020.

The loss of jobs during the pandemic has hit non-UK workers hard, according to the Center of Excellence for Economic Statistics (ESCoE). Currently, the government continues to promote this exodus. With the so-called voluntary return measure, the British authorities have used their aid system to get rid of European immigrants. Voluntary return offers people who wish to return to their country of origin financial assistance of two thousand pounds (just over $ 2,700) and the cost of the return ticket.

In the current context of Britain, where most of the country will enter a new quarantine – the third since the start of the pandemic early last year – the offer to leave the country seems more attractive . Although not all people with a European passport decided to leave.

Among the measures taken by the government before leaving the European Union was the Settlement Scheme, a legal figure granted to Europeans residing in the United Kingdom and which also included those who entered the country before December 31, 2020. This program allows people with an EU Passport and their relatives residing on the island to obtain an established or pre-installed status free of charge. According to data from the British authorities, up to September 30, 2020, they had registered more than 3.8 million European applications. Brexit has increased this figure.

Immigration attorney Dancy Naranjo said inquiries and applications are increasing as the government-announced deadline draws near. Naranjo works for the Scornik Gerstein studio, where most of the clients are usually from a Latin American country.

“Our biggest clients are usually Latin Americans with dual Spanish or Italian nationality and their non-European parents,” he noted. It is expected that by the final date of the process -June 2021- figure will exceed 4.5 million applications from people already residing in the UK.

In this group an unusually high number of Argentines stand out.

Alejandra Vázquez, an Argentina who works for the West London Equality Center, a human rights organization hired by the British government to give free general advice to immigrants, said that She has only advised an average of 500 or 600 Argentines per month in the process for the past eight months.

“The number of Argentines has attracted attention, since the UK is not a very popular destination for us. Many of them were in Spain or Italy, but the vast majority came directly from Argentina. By having the European passport, they also had the possibility of legally residing here if they arrived before December 31 of last year, ”he explained.

“A lot of people come to the UK unprepared. English is a huge barrier. It happened to me, I didn’t know the language. I came from Spain as Argentina, we did not have European immigrant status, until my husband did not get his Italian passport, it was very hard, “he said. she confided in Telam from London, where she lives with her partner and her two children., 14 and 23 years old. “I also learned to work as a volunteer in different organizations so that I could talk to people and I also studied math afterwards, in order to meet more people, ”she said.

After several years he developed his own business, a small business he named Mover Shipping UK, which focused on international trade, commercial freight, removals and foreign trade consultancy.

“Also, many Argentines who arrived did so with one hand behind and the other in front and now they stumble. Mostly young people, couples and even families with young children. This is not the case. good time, many don’t speak. the language and I know they are having a bad time. They came with an illusion, but without preparing. It is very hard and more if they are not prepared and in the middle of a pandemic. Language is a huge barrier, ”he told me.