Page 95 iStudy Guide 2019/20
P. 95
iStudy
2019/20
95
Amid Brexit’s uncertainty and unpredictability, we must
analyse its impact so far since the 2016 referendum as
an isolated period and can only speculate on what is to
come once the UK officially leaves the bloc. As it stands,
companies across the country are employing a business
as usual attitude as they prepare for and await the result
of the negotiation deals. In terms of citizenship, the
government is rolling out the EU Settlement Scheme
which protects the citizen rights for EU citizens and their
families who have lived in the UK for five years, enabling
them to live and work in the UK indefinitely. Similarly in
the education sector, universities are seeking to provide
assurance to international students and academics that
the terms of their stay in UK will be unaffected by Brexit.
Nevertheless, the October date looms, and whilst a ‘soft’
Brexit would provide the UK with trade concessions and
some continued element of free movement, a no-deal
scenario will divest UK-based EU citizens of many of the
perks they previously received from the union.
Earlier this year, an open letter to MPs from leaders of
150 UK universities stated that the impact of a no-deal
Brexit could cause “an academic, cultural and scientific
setback from which it would take decades to recover”.
In the event of a no-deal withdrawal, the prospect
of studying in the UK for international students will
certainly become less appealing. To begin with, removal
of freedom of movement into the UK will make visas
necessary for incoming students, who will need to
obtain a Tier 4 student visa or short-term study visa. This
has wider implications for economic migrants, who will
now depend on a Tier 2 visa for entry which requires
the applicant to have a job offer in the place for their
arrival to the UK. The tightening of borders has already
been observed across the Atlantic where prospective
students and job-seeking emigrants alike are deterred
by the USA’s increasingly complicated visa application
process, contributing to the ‘Trump Slump’ which has
characterised immigration into the US in recent years. It
remains to be seen whether a post-Brexit UK will follow
suit and pursue further isolationist policies which restrict
the movement of foreign citizens into the country.
2019/20
95
Amid Brexit’s uncertainty and unpredictability, we must
analyse its impact so far since the 2016 referendum as
an isolated period and can only speculate on what is to
come once the UK officially leaves the bloc. As it stands,
companies across the country are employing a business
as usual attitude as they prepare for and await the result
of the negotiation deals. In terms of citizenship, the
government is rolling out the EU Settlement Scheme
which protects the citizen rights for EU citizens and their
families who have lived in the UK for five years, enabling
them to live and work in the UK indefinitely. Similarly in
the education sector, universities are seeking to provide
assurance to international students and academics that
the terms of their stay in UK will be unaffected by Brexit.
Nevertheless, the October date looms, and whilst a ‘soft’
Brexit would provide the UK with trade concessions and
some continued element of free movement, a no-deal
scenario will divest UK-based EU citizens of many of the
perks they previously received from the union.
Earlier this year, an open letter to MPs from leaders of
150 UK universities stated that the impact of a no-deal
Brexit could cause “an academic, cultural and scientific
setback from which it would take decades to recover”.
In the event of a no-deal withdrawal, the prospect
of studying in the UK for international students will
certainly become less appealing. To begin with, removal
of freedom of movement into the UK will make visas
necessary for incoming students, who will need to
obtain a Tier 4 student visa or short-term study visa. This
has wider implications for economic migrants, who will
now depend on a Tier 2 visa for entry which requires
the applicant to have a job offer in the place for their
arrival to the UK. The tightening of borders has already
been observed across the Atlantic where prospective
students and job-seeking emigrants alike are deterred
by the USA’s increasingly complicated visa application
process, contributing to the ‘Trump Slump’ which has
characterised immigration into the US in recent years. It
remains to be seen whether a post-Brexit UK will follow
suit and pursue further isolationist policies which restrict
the movement of foreign citizens into the country.
