Being An Immigrant In the UK After Brexit

The United Kingdom's exit from the EU in 2021 has led to a notable increase in the number of challenges faced by citizens of Member States when attempting to enter the country. Although they can stay for up to six months as tourists, many are sent back to their home countries upon arrival at the border, while others may be detained in immigration centres. 2024 saw the highest number of EU citizens in immigration detention since the Brexit vote, with several nationalities, including Spanish and Romanian, reaching their highest number of detainees in these centres since the British Home Office began publishing data in 2010.

In addition to detentions and returns, many people struggle to prove that they have lived in the United Kingdom since before 31 December 2020 (a requirement for processing and accessing the EU Settlement Scheme). Various NGOs in the country have reported a hostile environment towards immigrants, and both those whose immigration status is in limbo and those who enter a detention centre without knowing when they will leave face mental health problems. This is because the United Kingdom has no limit on immigration detention. Consequently, individuals entering detention centres do not know when they will be released.

Methodology

The team dedicated several months to researching and identifying organisations working with immigrants in the United Kingdom. Their work involved a comprehensive review of academic studies, books, and articles from both British and international media, as well as national publications, to understand the situation of immigrants in the aftermath of Brexit. They analysed data released by the British government and national statistics from individual countries. To deepen their understanding, the team conducted more than 30 interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, including NGOs supporting immigrants, visitors to detention centres, human rights lawyers, migration specialists, researchers, and immigrants either in detention or facing challenges related to their immigration status. In addition, they submitted multiple transparency requests to the governments of the United Kingdom, Romania, and Spain to access further official information. Drawing on this extensive body of research and documentation, the team compiled a detailed report that brings together a wide array of sources, offering a comprehensive overview of the post-Brexit situation faced by EU immigrants in the UK.

Key Findings

• The year 2024 has seen the highest number of EU citizens detained in UK immigration detention centres since Brexit came into effect.
• In 2024, the UK Home Office recorded the highest number of detainees from six EU member states since it began publishing data in 2010: Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
• Many immigrants in the UK end up in detention because they lack information or have received poor advice. On other occasions, the Ministry of the
  The Home Office sends someone to a centre by mistake.
• Over the past ten years, the Home Office has paid out more than £76 million in compensation for cases of wrongful immigration detention.
• The British government does not publish the reasons why a person is detained, so it could be because their visa has expired, they are not entitled to work, or they have committed a crime.
• More than 53% of those rejected at the border and returned to their country of origin were citizens from EU countries, accounting for over 12,000 people.
• Romanians have been the EU nationality with the highest number of returns to their country of origin since 2012.
• The decision to turn someone away at the border and send them back home is often arbitrary and based on the border official's subjective opinion.
• Although many organisations and NGOs have called for a 28-day limit on detaining individuals in immigration centres, 43.09% of detainees in such centres in the United Kingdom were held for more than 28 days.

Photo credit: Maldita.es/Funky Citizens