LONDON -- On the eve of Britain’s historic departure from the European Union, some three million EU nationals are left questioning their future in a country they have long called home.
“Before the referendum I would’ve told you I would’ve stayed here until I died, but something kind of broke in me,” Nicole Weavers, a Dutch national who settled in London 11 years ago, told CTV News.
“It doesn’t feel like it’s the same place.”
On Wednesday, the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved Britain’s departure terms, marking the final decision in four years of Brexit drama.
Despite a transition period that will allow European citizens to remain in Britain after the country’s official departure Friday, many in Weaver’s position admit that they no longer feel welcome in the U.K.
“There has been a lot of hate against foreigners, and it has been hurtful for a lot of people,” German national Tania Bueltman told CTV News.
“They have lost a sense of belonging.”
Bueltman, who has resided in the U.K. for more than 11 years, is the founder of EU Citizens’ Champion, a campaign that advocates for a legal immigration status that will protect EU citizens and their families after Brexit.
At the core of the campaign is the argument that forcing Europeans to apply for “settled status” is unfair.
“EU citizens in the UK are now faced with having to apply if they want to stay in their home post-Brexit,” reads the campaign’s website. “While the UK government claims that settled status secures the rights of EU citizens, the reality is that it does not provide certainty.”
EU nationals are required to apply to the so-called Settlement Scheme to continue living in the U.K. after June 30, 2021.
Settled status will grant EU nationals and their families who have spent more than five years in the U.K. the same rights as British citizens. Those who have lived in the U.K. less than five years will be granted “pre-settled” status, requiring them to reapply for permanent status.
“It’s insulting,” said Bueltman.
But it seems Brexit has also tarnished the reputation of a country many Europeans once felt proud to call home.
Despite calling it a “sad week,” Weavers joked that before the referendum she would often participate in Facebook quizzes that would crown her 95 per cent British.
“I wouldn’t want to do them now, because I wouldn’t want to be thought of as British,” she said.
“I still really love London, but I don’t know what will happen to this country. I’m European, I have freedom of movement. I can go where I want.”
Bueltman, on the other hand, said she planned to ring in Brexit at a “Eurotrash” party, a theme she says is fitting “because we’ve been treated like trash for such a long time.”
“I’m going to own this,” she said.
