What will happen to the expats?

What will happen to the expats?

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Wed 25 May 2016 2:05 PM

On June 23, British citizens will decide whether to leave the European Union or not. The United Kingdom last had a say about its EU membership in 1975. As pledged by Prime Minister David Cameron during his election campaign, now, 41 years on, the time has come to reassess the situation.

 

On June 23, British citizens will decide whether to leave the European Union or not.

On June 23, British citizens will decide whether to leave the European Union or not.

 

Italy is home to 66,000 Brits, according to United Nations figures, and the general feeling among us all ahead of the referendum is fear: what will change for expats living in Italy if the United Kingdom chooses to leave?

 

The answer is as simple as it is complicated: nobody knows. The rules for exit are set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, but no member state has ever left the EU, so the process is unprecedented and untested.

 

Information provided by the UK government, which is in favour of remaining in the EU, explains that it would take an extended period to negotiate first the UK’s exit from the EU, secondly the country’s future arrangements with the EU, and thirdly trade deals with countries outside the EU. In a nutshell: a vote to leave the EU would be the start, and not the end, of a process that could result in a decade or more of uncertainty.

 

As British citizens we enjoy a variety of rights from our EU membership. If the UK chooses to leave the EU, all of these rights would have to be covered in a new arrangement. These rights include the right to live, work and own property in all 28 countries of the EU; retiring to another member country; the right to receive free health care using the European Health Insurance Card; the right to vote in local elections in other EU countries; mutual recognition of child custody decisions across the EU; the use of the European Small Claims Procedure to reclaim up to 2,000 euro from individuals in other EU countries; and the right to use public services in other EU countries.

 

An issue for expats is that to be eligible to vote in the EU referendum, a British citizen must have lived in the United Kingdom in the last 15 years. Last April, the high court dismissed an attempt to overturn Section 2 of the EU Referendum Act 2015, which established the 15-year rule for overseas electors. Harry Shindler, a World War II veteran who lives in Italy, and lawyer Jacquelyn MacLennan, who resides in Belgium, had claimed that the clause unlawfully restricted their right to freedom of movement under EU law. The judges’ ruling against the claim was based on the fact that the government was entitled to instruct a cut-off period “at which extended residence abroad might indicate a weakening of ties with the United Kingdom,” and on the impracticalities of adopting a new electoral register capable of including, in time for this referendum, non-resident British citizens whose last residence in the UK was more than 15 years ago.

 

The British Embassy in Rome has been running a high-profile campaign to encourage voter registration ahead of the referendum, before the June 7 cut-off. In a recent article published in The Florentine, British ambassador to Italy Christopher Prentice wrote, “I advise you to register sooner rather than later so you can be sure you are registered in time. You can already do so online in just a few minutes at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. In fact, thousands have already taken advantage of this opportunity and will have their say at the EU referendum.”

 

The overriding feeling among British expats in Florence appears to be fear. Father William Lister, chaplain of St. Mark’s Church and area dean for Italy and Malta, commented, “As most British people, the Florence expatriate community are struggling to get some clear idea of the consequences of staying within the EU or leaving. It seems it depends on who you ask, though many here have applied for a postal vote.” He continued, “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t love the place and there is genuine concern that our way of life could be changed adversely. For example, many of our people are now elderly and rely on the excellent health service here.”

 

“If you’re going to do something that monumental you must have a masterplan,” commented Suzi Jenkins, a partner in a web communications agency who has been living in Tuscany for 23 years. “I don’t think that voting to leave the EU is voting for any huge plan … I don’t think there is one. It would be voting against what the general populace dislikes about Britain at the moment.”

 

Helen Bayley, a painter and licensed tour guide living in Florence since 2009, said, “My initial response is one of fear … One can only hope that all countries take into consideration those of us living abroad and those from other EU countries living in the UK. If not, the legalization and documentation would be a logistical nightmare.”

 

Indeed, it is not just British citizens in Italy who would be affected: so would the huge number of EU migrants living in the UK, including the large number of Italians migrating north. According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, 57,600 Italians were allocated a National Insurance number in 2015, as were 42,000 in 2014. Italians were the third largest group of foreigners to enter the UK for work in 2015, behind those from Romania and Poland.

 

History may be made on June 23, although we have no way of knowing what impact that history would have on our collective future.

 

In order to vote in the EU Referendum you must have resided in the UK in the past 15 years and hold a valid British passport and a National Insurance number. The last date to register is June 7. www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

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