EU citizens in UK anxiously seek security before Brexit

Sam Schwarzkopf, a German neuroscientist at University College London, was startled to receive a letter from the British government telling him that his application for permanent residence had been rejected and he should prepare to leave the UK.

As a European Union citizen, he is legally entitled to live in Britain, and last year’s decision by UK voters to leave the 28-nation bloc hasn’t changed that. But he is one of hundreds of thousands of Europeans battling British bureaucracy to confirm their legal status — and sometimes discovering that the process only increases their uncertainty.

Schwarzkopf, who has lived in the UK since 2009 and is married to a Briton, thought his application for a permanent resident card “would be a formality.”

Outrage

When he got the rejection saying he should prepare to leave, he was at first surprised, then angry.

“It’s outrageous that they use statements like that, especially at a time like this,” he said.

Schwarzkopf was trying to obtain a small blue card emblazoned with the logo of Britain’s Home Office and the words “UK residence documentation.”

Before last year’s EU membership referendum, most people didn’t even know the cards existed. Residents of EU nations can live and work across the bloc — no special visas or paperwork are needed for Europeans living in Britain.

That will change once Britain leaves the EU, after a two-year divorce process due to begin by March 31. But no one is sure exactly how.

Britain says it will end free movement and impose controls on EU immigration, but has given no details. Officials in both the UK and the EU say the 3 million EU citizens living in Britain should be allowed to stay. But there has not been a formal guarantee so far.