Brexit Brits Abroad

This contribution to our 12 days of Brexit Brits Abroad talks through the complex issue of tax and taxation.

Continuing on the theme of stereotypes, this contribution to our 12 days of Brexit Brits Abroad explores in more detail the lives led by UK citizens who have made their homes in the EU27.

This contribution to our 12 days of Brexit Brits Abroad dispels stereotypes of Britons living in the EU27 to highlight instead the real lives behind these.

This contribution to our 12 days of Brexit Brits Abroad busts the myth that all UK citizens who have made their lives and homes in the EU27 are pensioners.

This contribution to our 12 days of Brexit Brits Abroad questions what the statistics tell us and don’t tell us about the UK citizens living and working in the EU27.

In our final episode before Christmas the project team comes together to reflect on our progress with the research and the challenges of working on a live topic. Michaela introduces Katherine Collins and Chantelle Lewis who are working on the project to develop the citizens’ panel, a dynamic element of the project that seeks to track the impact of Brexit on the lives of Britons living in the EU27 as the withdrawal process unfolds. They reflect on the work they have been doing to bring in the diverse voices of Britons who have made their lives and homes in other parts of the EU27. In conversation as a team, Michaela, Karen, Katherine and Chantelle talk about managing emotions in the research encounter and the responsibilities that we have to those taking part in the research.

In this episode, Michaela talks with PhD researcher Melanie Neumann about her research with Britons living in Berlin. She delves into the real lives behind the headlines, highlighting how the stereotypes of this population as young, fun-seeking, mobile workers do disservice to the high number of these who work in local businesses. Melanie also highlights their attitudes towards Brexit and the future of their lives in Berlin, their political engagements and actions in the city.    Melanie Neumann is a PhD researcher in British Studies at Humboldt University. You can read more about this interesting research on our blog:    https://brexitbritsabroad.com/2017/07/31/disappointed-but-confident-britsinberlin-after-brexit/

In this episode, Michaela is joined in the studio by Dr. Michelle Lawson to talk about their shared interest in UK citizens who have made rural France their homes. They discuss the work of representations and stereotypes in the way that Britons living in the EU27 are understood and represented, the misconceptions these generate, and the frustrations about these expressed by those they have worked with. While these stereotypes are longstanding, Brexit has made these frustration more acute, their reactions marking shifts in identity, place and belonging.   Dr Michelle Lawson is the author of Identity, Ideology and Positioning in Discourses of Lifestyle Migration: The British in the Ariège (2016, Palgrave) and a tutor at the Open University.

In this episode, Michaela is joined by Dr Meghan Benton, senior policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute. They revisit the question of who are the UK citizens who live in the EU27, highlighting the diversity of this population in terms of employment status, family circumstance and age, and talk about what Brexit might variously mean for the lives of these Britons. As they discuss, while citizens’ rights are the headlines in the negotiations, beyond legal status, there are a whole host of structures, regulations and arrangements that currently support the lives of these individuals that need to be considered in light of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.   Dr. Meghan Benton is a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute and the author of the forthcoming report for the Barrow Cadbury Foundation Safe or Sorry? 

Since Brexit, there has been an increase in the number of UK citizens applying for dual nationality with other European Union member states. But what is it like to apply for citizenship of another country? In this episode, Michaela talks with Gill and Clive Metcalf, who live in France, about their decision to apply for French citizenship. They debunk a series of myths about this process, their experience, and present their top tips for anyone considering applying for French citizens themselves. As they explain, applying for French citizenship is about much more than just safeguarding their rights as European Union citizens. You can read more about Gill and Clive’s experience here: https://www.connexionfrance.com/Community/Your-News/What-really-happens-in-a-citizenship-application

For our tenth episode of the series, we thought we would do something a bit different and start bringing in some of the voices of the Britons who have made their homes in the EU27, highlighting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of this population. In this episode, Michaela talks to Paul Hughes, who traded Swindon for Amsterdam and now lives in Germany, following his wife’s job. They discuss his reasons for moving, his experience of settling and finding work in another European Union Country, realizing his dreams of being a Radio DJ, and his feelings about Brexit. Paul is a DJ, writer and the host of the podcast ‘Expat Chit Chat’, https://itunes.apple.com/de/podcast/paul-the-brits-podcast-expat-chit-chat/id1240852121?mt=2. You can find out more about him at http://paulthebrit.com. And if you are a Briton living abroad who would like to take part in the project and perhaps appear on our podcast, you can find out more here: https://brexitbritsabroad.com/brexpats-the-project/citizens-panel/

Do you consider yourself an expatriate or a migrant? Neither term is neutral, carrying considerable baggage. In this episode, Michaela is joined in the studio by Dr Sophie Cranston, who has conducted research with Britons living in Singapore. Through their discussion, they consider further how Britons living abroad identify—whether through embracing these labels or rejecting them—draw out distinctions between their lives and those of others, the contexts that inform these, and to think about what such identifications and dis-identifications communicate about their sense of belonging. Sophie is a Lecturer in Human Geography at Loughborough University. You can find out more about her research here: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/geography/staff/sophie-cranston/

In this episode, Michaela catches up with Dr. Joel Busher about his research with Britons living in Majorca. Focussed on Brexit as an ongoing and drawn out process, they discuss how these migrants make sense of Brexit in the context of their lives, how they manage talking politics in their daily lives with other Britons, and what the emergence of political campaigns around the rights of these populations reveals about how they feel about being British and European in a time of Brexit. Joel is a research fellow in the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University. Find out more about his research here: http://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/research-directories/researchers/dr-joel-busher/

In this episode, Michaela invites Dr. Nando Sigona onto the podcast to talk about the issues that Brexit raises for EU27 citizens and their families living in the United Kingdom. As he highlights, beyond the headlines about citizens rights and the legal status of these families, Brexit marks changes to the politics of belonging that are deeply felt. Just as for the British nationals living and working in the EU27, the loss of European identity is a source of grieve and bereavement, and the uncertainties about what Brexit will mean for their futures. Nando is the project lead for EU families and Eurochildren in Brexiting Britain. You can find out more about the project here: http://ukandeu.ac.uk/brexitresearch/eu-families-and-eurochildren-in-brexiting-britain/  

This episode reports on Michaela’s recent trip to Lot to talk about Brexit with the Britons who have made this corner of rural France their homes. In conversation with Dr. Katie Higgins (Keele University) who joins us in the studio as a guest presenter, Michaela talk about what Brexit means to these Britons; their emotions, responses and reactions to the outcome of the EU referendum; and their feelings about being European, being British and Britain. Dr. Katie Higgins https://www.keele.ac.uk/gge/people/katiehiggins/

In this episode Professor Tamara Hervey and Sarah McCloskey join Michaela to talk about the legal structures that have supported both Britons working, residing and travelling to the EU27 and EU nationals living and working in the United Kingdom. As they discuss, Brexit brings with it legal uncertainty and the possibility that these citizens who had set up their lives based on one legal system—with the related rights, social and tax advantages—face the prospect of becoming third country nationals governed through each country’s migration regimes. Read Sarah and Tamara’s excellent blog on this topic at: http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/all-of-life-is-changed-impact-of-brexit.html Professor Tamara Hervey: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/law/staff/thervey

With the project off to a flying start, Michaela and Karen get together to discuss the aims and objectives of the project and introduce their approach to understanding the lives of Britons resident in Europe. They reflect on how Brexit marks a shift in the conditions and contexts that support British citizens living in other EU member states and the make the case for returning to their original fieldsites in France and Spain. In talking about the project, they describe their ethnographic approach to doing research and provide a sense of what it might be like to take part in the project.    To find out more about taking part in the research, visit https://brexitbritsabroad.com/citizens-panels-2/

Should the British abroad have the right to vote in the United Kingdom? With the UK General Election 2017 getting closer day by day, Michaela speaks with Dr. Susan Collard about overseas voting for British populations. Starting from the question of why we should care about whether the British abroad have the right to vote, the episode considers political disenfranchisement, the vote for life and what overseas voters should do to make sure they are registered in time for the general election.    Links Dr Sue Collard: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/profiles/543   Britons Abroad Facebook Group: 

The British on the Costa del Sol and importantly, pensioners, are the longstanding poster child of Brits abroad. They are stereotyped and caricatured in the press and have been the subject of intense academic study. In this episode, Michaela speaks with Professor Karen O’Reilly, author of The British the Costa del Sol (Routledge, 2000) and Rebekah Miller, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.about the lives of these Britons beyond the headlines.   Links Karen O’Reilly: https://karenoreilly.wordpress.com/brits-abroad/

In the first episode in the series, Michaela talks with Professor Karen O’Reilly about the Britons resident in other European Union member states, who they are and why we should consider them as migrants. Introducing the British in Europe as a diverse population, living in different locations across Europe and drawn to live overseas for a variety of reasons, the discussion sets the stage for thinking about what possible impacts Brexit might have on their lives.    Links Karen O'Reilly: https://karenoreilly.wordpress.com