Today is the last day I am a fully fledged EU citizen, due to a decision that I voted against, and a process that was badly managed by the UK from its inception. Also due to vagaries of law in the 80s: my sister is a dual citizen, but I am not eligible. (Thread)
Whilst I still hold out faint hope that *some* freedom of movement provisions may yet appear in a future deal, the personal upshot for me is that I will have to pick where to settle permanently: Spain, where I have lived most of my life, or the UK
I am a permanent Spanish resident. The Spanish govt has accepted my right to remain under the withdrawal agreement. I can continue to live here indefinitely unless I do something egregious enough to be kicked out, or I spend more than two consecutive years away from here.
But that’s the kicker. I lose that freedom to choose. I can’t suddenly decide for professional reasons to move to London for a few years and then come back here. In the past I went to Morocco for three years, now I can’t.
Most importantly, it means I have to choose which parent I’m going to have to support in their old age. The one who is Spanish or the one who is British. I cannot move back into the UK to support my father without losing the right to live near or with my mother.
Neither the British nor the Spanish state pensions would currently qualify me to move back to Spain. I have other sources of retirement income, including a private pension, but I effectively have to choose to retire to Spain, or make the one-off choice to move to the UK
I am also effectively disenfranchised by living here: the UK does not allow emigrants to vote after they have left the country for 15 years. In Spain I can vote for my mayor, and no longer in EU elections.
People have literally died for the right to vote. Whilst this is not a brexit-related thing specifically, it does go to show how insular the UK is for a nation that once ruled the empire where the sun never sets
The only thing that would change if I were to become a Spanish citizen is that I would have even less freedom of movement to go to the UK: I could not choose to go back and retire there, or go back to support my British family. On the upside I can vote in Spain and move around EU
Being British is part of my identity; how I present myself to the world. Choosing to become Spanish requires me to give up being a British Citizen. It also now requires me to sacrifice freedom of movement to the UK, and given current law there, I doubt I would be welcomed back
I can’t just ignore my roots. I can’t just ignore my family ties. I also can’t ignore the reality of my situation and where I have built my life and own my assets.
I acknowledge that these are very much the problems of a privileged person. Part of being privileged is having a safety net, and that is mostly as a result of family, but also state benefits. My new immigrant status changes the balance in my safety nets, which I need to think on
I am also very worried about my friends and family back in the UK and what they might have to go through as of January 2021. Whilst I doubt the UK will crash, the pigheadedness of the current government will mean the UK will not get the best possible deal
More to the point, we’ve got another two years now of concentrated Brexit News, with all the emotional toll it has taken as will take on everyone. The current government policy will ensure Brexit stays in the news for as long as possible, and as worryingly as possible.
I am thankful for the opportunities that the EU has allowed me to have as an EU citizen. I am obviously going to remain in Spain for the foreseeable future: my life is here.
I have a lot of abstract reasons why I feel the UK leaving the EU is wrong. I work in customs, I know what’s coming. But the time to express those were years ago. I did feel that maybe an expression of a more personal pain and sadness was more appropriate today
Mostly I am sad that the UK, for reasons I fail to understand, for things that seem counterintuitive to me, has chosen to reject my way of life. It’s not accessible to everyone in the UK, but it should be.
Thank you, European Union. It has been a grand time. I remain here, now as an immigrant, and hoping to see future growth for you and all the beautiful things that are in the European Project.
As for the UK: I have to digest this change, see what comes with it. The country has rejected me, but it doesn’t follow that I should reject it. But I no longer recognise the country for what it was when I grew up and lived there.
