Top psychiatrist in red tape struggles
Married resident of 25 years’ citizenship battle
A Perth-based German psychiatrist claims she’s facing a tangle of red tape to gain UK citizenship.
Claudia Grimmer (51) has called Scotland home for 25 years and has worked for the health service – including a spell with NHS Tayside prior to her current role with the board in neighbouring Fife – for well over a decade.
Mother-of-three Dr Grimmer, who is married to a Scot and lives in the Fair City’s Craigie district, explained she has undertaken the gruelling task of applying for citizenship here amid uncertainty over the validity of her current residency entitlement in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union – a process she says is being made increasingly difficult by the Home Office.
She said: “I sent my application away in the middle of May this year, and was told that the Home Office would get back to me between four and six months from then.
“Five months later, I returned from a week’s holiday to find a letter which gave me two weeks to provide new evidence. By the time I’d received it there was five days to go. By the time you take postage into account, that leaves hardly any time for sourcing and submitting the evidence.
“It’s as if I’m being taunted. I’m being made to feel rejected and unappreciated, which certainly not the way I perceive my everyday life.
“Because the goalposts have changed, I’m worried that they will change again.
“I’ve submitted everything I can and I have no idea when they’ll get back to me. It couldn’t be less personal and there’s absolutely no communication. It doesn’t make me feel valued.
“I don’t see what else I can do. The citizenship application cost £1281, and the language tests and other tests all cost money as well. It’s costly undertaking which leaves an bitter taste in your mouth.
“Two of my children had to go to Glasgow to sit a citizenship test in order to get a British-German passport, despite being born here and only ever living in Scotland.”
Dr Grimmer has been in contact with Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart, and hopes the government will make the process easier for the thousands of EU residents who have built lives in Scotland.
Mr Wishart said: “My office has been contacted by Dr Grimmer and we are making representations to the Home Office on her behalf. Sadly, this type of Psychiatrist Claudia Grimmer
case has become a very familiar feature in MP’s offices since the vote to leave the EU.
“The UK Government must put more resources into dealing with applications such as Dr Grimmer’s and must offer EU nationals living in the UK greater clarity over their future here.
“Talk of a ‘no deal Brexit’ is doing nothing to reassure those EU nationals who live here and contribute to our society.
“EU nationals play a vital role in our
public services and should know that they are valued by those using public services.
“It is about time that the UK Government show that they value the contribution that EU nationals make to our society.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The length of time that a citizenship application takes to process is entirely down to the individual application itself. There are certain fast track measures in place.”