Brexit - A Member's View - Alberto Fueyo MInstSCE
My main role as an Acoustic Engineer at AMS Acoustics, is to consult and advise clients during the design, installation and commissioning stages of Voice Alarm systems.
I moved to the UK from Spain more than 7 years ago, first to study English and then I decided to do a Masters at the University of Salford. After one month, I found a job related with my Masters.
During all these different stages I lived and socialised with people from different nationalities (British, Europeans and non-Europeans), so I have a broad idea of the different issues and paperwork needed for the three different citizen status.
Back in 2012, I also experienced the process of Bulgarian citizens having the right to work in the UK without a work permit which, back in those days, seemed a big relief for the Bulgarians I knew.
If I look at the current situation with Brexit and the possibility of EU citizens going through the same paperwork process as the non-European citizens, I can understand if they see this process as discouraging.
It is difficult enough to move to a different country without the hassle of masses of paperwork. All the paperwork takes time and time means money. Currently EU citizens can come to the UK only a few hundred pounds in their pockets.
In a big city like London, is quite easy to find a low paid job to start with, open a bank account, apply for the National Insurance number and then start earning money (hence paying taxes). Finding a decent and affordable accommodation in London is a different story in its own, so it is better to keep that out of the equation.
If the time to start earning money is delayed due to the all the paperwork, then people will need more money to start with, so less people will afford to emigrate to the UK.
The above scenario would be the No Deal scenario, but the reality is that neither me nor my non-British friends have an idea what is going to happen.
The information on what I need to do to stay in the UK or when to do it, is very poor and gets even worse as the months go by. I am just waiting to see what will happen. The waiting game is very worrying, as I could go to sleep one day as a legal emigrant and wake up the next day as an illegal emigrant if the UK
leaves the EU with a no-deal.
Alberto Fueyo, MInstSCE is an Acoustic Engineer for AMS Acoustics Ltd and a member of the ISCVE.
