“I’m not leaving here. I’m very content and this is where I belong.”
Ewa Gluza arrived in Britain UK on August 3, 2003. This was which was the year prior to when Poland became a member of to the European Union. Even now, with Britain being a member of the EU She has no plans of ever returning.
“Immediately following the Brexit vote , I was thinking”Oh my God they aren’t interested in us any more’. I recall working and having people saying ‘We want you to stay'” she says.
Now at 47, Ewa is chair of the Oxford Polish Association (OPA) as well as an accountant in Oxford’s Hertford College and she also manages her own bookkeeping business with a majority of Polish individuals who are self-employed.
Around 10% of her Polacy UK bookkeeping clients have moved back to their homes since Brexit which includes health professionals, cleaners and those working in construction.
“Of course, plenty of people are returning in the present. One reason could be Brexit however another reason is the need to look after parents for, and obviously certain people – particularly labourers were laid off in the outbreak. A few people went back to check what was happening in Poland and discovered that it pretty good” she told Euronews.
“No reason to stay”
The time following the UK has voted to leave the EU have witnessed a number of EU citizens returning to their homelands which was that was accelerated by the coronavirus epidemic. Recent figures indicate that the number of people who left the country than came in 2020, an increase of nearly 40% over the year before.
Polish people, the biggest group of people in the countryis not an exception. The official statistics suggest that the population of the UK has fallen from nearly one million people in 2017, to just 738,000 in 2020.
However, some are skeptical about their reliability. “These numbers also seem odd considering that, at the same time there was a time when the Home Office has had 1.1 million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme from Poles,” says Polish journalist Jakub Krupa.
The number of people who are seeking to remain in the UK is not surprising, due to the fact that they are firmly rooted within their communities. Ewa Gluza said that the moment Poland was admitted to the EU in 2004, the OPA established the Polish school that had around 20 students. It is now home to 250 students, and an active waiting list.
“We established (the OPA) to try to be part of the community in the UK, but not to be out in the cold. We wanted to spread the word about our culture and also show people what it is like to be in UK We have evening teas and Christmas dinners. There are families who have difficulty with language barriers and are able to watch Polish TV however, it’s quite rare nowadays in our country.
“Most families in the UK have now decided that there’s no reason for them to leave. Sometimes their kids don’t wish to leave.”
Unsettled status
However, staying in Britain following Brexit hasn’t been easy. While the divorce agreement granted the right to stay, EU nationals were required to apply for residence through Britain’s EU Settlement Scheme.
Krzysia Balinska who is the coordinator of Polish Migrants Organize to Make a Difference (POMOC) she says that the struggles many have experienced have played a significant role in their decision to quit the UK and return back home.
“A important issue for the Polish citizens following Brexit is the confusion surrounding what is known as the EU Settlement Scheme. People who have received Settlement Status from the Home Office are facing difficulties which were not there prior to Brexit. When applying for jobs, applying for mortgages or health insurance, people are required to show proof of their immigration status,” she told Euronews in an email reply.
The lack of tangible document to prove residency statusit is only accessible in digital form — has only exacerbated the problem, Balinska says. It has also created problems for those who cross borders in particular when they are traveling with a different passport than the one that is listed in their digital records and resulted in people being denied entry or sent to detention centers.
“There are a lot of individuals who didn’t apply for the scheme at time due to the fact that the government was unable to provide them with suitable information for their culture and language,” she explained, noting that some have left due to administrative issues, or due to personal reasons.
Troubles with business
For a few Poles who felt that Brexit was causing them to think about what they want to do in the near future, COVID-19 shaped your minds. Krzystof Dworny, who is 51 operates a minicab business in London and has been within the UK for the past 15 years. He said to Euronews that many Polish-owned companies have been forced to close down.
“I barely made it through, but just because I was under an agreement with a large Polish company. In COVID, the entire tourism industry fell apart and they’re in the process of stealing people’s money by making them conduct PCR tests. If this continues tourism won’t rebound,” the official said.
The business of Krzystof is further complicated by the strict immigration rules of the post-Brexit UK system. The labor shortage is impacting the sector as well but in the context of the weak state of relations between the EU and UK the businessman is not optimistic of the government expanding visa programmes to allow Poles as well as other Europeans to return to the country.
“They will ask for assistance, and they will send drivers as well as other workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan and others,” he said. “Now they require help as they’re drowning. If they receive assistance, they’ll thank them as they do every time”Go out of this homeland’.”
The massive inflow of EU workers to Britain was among the main reasons why voters voted in favour of Brexit. It’s ironic that certain industries are finding gone Poles difficult to replace.
“There’s an enormous shortage of builders today. I receive phone calls from builders almost every day, asking for my contact information (for contacts) as they are unable to locate anyone. They are also required to pay more. The cost will increase due to the costly visa process.” adds Ewa Gluza, a student at Oxford.
She believes that the UK’s offer of visas to HGV drivers this winter needs to be extended to include other industries.
Welcoming or not?
Another aspect that has been cited in the exile of Poles from Britain is the core of Brexit itself which is that The UK has ceased to be a member in the EU.
“Those who left the country due to Brexit didn’t want the restrictions imposed because they were not part of in the European Union. Or, they could choose to leave where there was a chance, or find an opportunity in Europe with greater respect for the working class,” Krzystof Dworny says.
It’s evident that the warm reception and level of acceptance Ewa Gluza experienced is not shared by everyone.
The phrase that her Oxford coworkers used after the Brexit decision -“We would like you to remain” was famously used by the then the Prime Secretary Theresa May, as the rights of EU citizens who reside inside the UK were scrutinized following the referendum.
However, as the Home Secretary (interior minister), May herself had initiated the policy that people blame for instilling the culture of hatred towards immigrants. Krzysia Balinska from POMOC claims that this is the case for Poles who live in Britain in the present.
“Government doesn’t send inclusive messages to EU citizens, which leads to an increasing discrimination in the workplace as well as in other public spaces. It’s an aspect of the insidious atmosphere that British institutions are creating for all immigrants.”
