Government
More Germans turned away at UK borders after Brexit
A British flag flies in front of the famous Big Ben clock tower in London. photo
© picture alliance / Michael Kappeler / dpa
It was one of the most important arguments for Brexit: to end freedom of movement. This also applies to more and more Germans.
In 2021 it hit 251 Germans and in 2022 even 805 – ten times as many as in 2019, the last normal year of travel before the pandemic. This emerges from data from the British Ministry of the Interior, which the German Press Agency evaluated.
The same development can be observed for the entire EU. Around 16,500 EU citizens were turned away in 2021 and almost 17,000 in 2022 – that’s almost a six-fold increase compared to 2019. Reasons for a rejection are not given in the data.
However, the British Home Office suggested that those affected had not submitted the necessary documents. Germans now also need a passport as tourists to enter the United Kingdom, an identity card is not sufficient.
EU is reluctant
The figures summarize both pre-checks, such as at ports or the Eurostar terminals in the EU, and checks after arrival in the UK. The statistics do not give any indication as to whether the travelers who were initially rejected were allowed to enter Great Britain at a later date.
In 2016, a narrow majority of people in the UK voted in favor of Brexit. The country then left the EU at the end of January 2020. A transitional period applied until the end of the year, but since January 1, 2021, Great Britain has no longer been a member of the EU customs union or the internal market. Since then, EU citizens have also required a visa if they want to live and work in the country. This does not apply to those who entered the country by December 31, 2020.
“The large number of EU citizens being stopped at the UK borders is extremely worrying,” Andreea Dumitrache of the organization The 3 Million, which looks after the rights of EU citizens after Brexit, told dpa. The Interior Ministry creates a hostile environment. “Since Brexit, EU citizens have been treated with distrust,” said Dumitrache.
The EU was reluctant. “We have carefully followed these statistics, which may be a consequence of the end of freedom of movement,” it said in response to a dpa request. “We have had contact with Member States and the UK Home Office in the past.” In private conversations, diplomats in London, on the other hand, expressed concern about the development.
People from Romania particularly affected
The British government made it clear that the development is wanted. “The British have voted for us to regain control of our borders and that is what we are delivering,” said the Home Office in London when asked by dpa.
“Border Patrol may stop any arriving passenger for further investigation if they are not immediately satisfied that they are eligible for entry. This decision will be made based on the information provided by the passenger and not based on their nationality.”
People from Romania were particularly affected. In 2021, they made up significantly more than half of the initially rejected EU citizens and in 2022 just under 50 percent. The EU and UK Home Office did not respond to specific questions about Romania.
In contrast to Germany and other EU states, Great Britain immediately opened its labor market to citizens of the new member states after the EU’s eastward enlargements in 2004 and 2007. In agriculture and the meat-processing industry, numerous workers still come mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. Since the new Brexit immigration rules came into force, however, there has been a shortage of skilled workers. It is often too expensive and time-consuming for employers to bear the necessary costs and obtain the necessary papers. The British government has therefore made several exceptions.