Migrants from EU rush to get British passports before BREXIT !

Thousands of people – continental Europeans in Britain as well as UK citizens abroad – are so alarmed at the potential impact of a British exit from the European Union on their lives that they are applying for a second passport, Guardian research suggests.

A Guardian website survey received more than 1,200 responses from European citizens, a large majority of whom were in the process of changing nationality or citizenship, or considering doing so. Many expressed concern that without dual nationality, an “out” vote in Britain’s membership referendum could make life as an EU citizen in the UK, or as a UK citizen in the EU, far more problematic.

Even the most cautious extrapolation from the survey would suggest that many thousands of Europeans are taking similar action.

“The worst is the uncertainty,” said Stephanie Zihms, a German national from near Bremen, who lives in Edinburgh.

I remember writing to a friend: if Ukip ever gets into power, I could be in trouble … But now it’s really not very funny
“Everyone talks about Brexit in big-picture economic or political terms; no one considers what it might mean personally, to so many people,” said Zihms, a post-doctoral academic. “My life is here now. Would I need a visa to visit my family? A minimum number of points to be able to work? No one can say.”

Chief among EU migrants’ worries in the event of “Brexit” are the end of fast-track EU-only lines at passport control; the return of work permits for employees; the abandonment of reciprocal public healthcare arrangements; tighter restrictions on studying and doing business; possible higher taxes on foreign property ownership and cash transfers between member states; and the treatment of foreign pensions.

German national Stephanie Zihms expects to take the Life in the UK test soon.
In fact, the practical consequences of a Brexit for the approximately 2.4 million EU citizens in Britain and nearly 2 million Britons estimated to be living on the continent are not yet clear. An eventual exit process, which would involve unpicking decades of legislation and regulation, would probably take years to negotiate. But few seem ready to leave anything to chance.