My friend that came over from Germany....

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@farscythe What happened after Brexit with Brits who were living on the continent? Did they give you a residents visa, did they offer you Dutch citizenship, or are they just pretending you don’t exist? And if the visa, is there a path to citizenship?

We’ve got a stupid-ass arrangement with Oz whereby there’s freedom of residence between the two countries, but if a Kiwi moves to Australia there’s no mechanism for them to ever become an Aussie citizen, since they don’t qualify for the regular immigration process and Oz has never created a special one. So there’s 50 year olds who’ve been there since their parents moved when they were babies who aren’t eligible to vote or get benefits and who can be sent “home” if they commit a crime. Wondering if the UK/EU situation is similarly fucked up - given everything else about Brexit, I’m sorta expecting it is.

[farscythe]

@іди-на-хуй-Влад-formerly-known-as-Distraxi for me nothing much happened as i already had a permanent residency/visa...missus and daughter had to request it but it was all fairly straight forward no hassle
i can apply for a dutch passport proper...but i think i'd have to give up my english one to do so

but basically least in the netherlands its been fairly straightforward to get citizenship...i dont know how its been for the rest of europe as every country has its own rules

(edit) but yeah..basically here the gubment sent out a letter to all brits living here saying they have to request a permit of residency if they want to stay but other than that nothing changes...cept nowadays i have to show said permit if i want to vote as i no longer have a european passport

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@farscythe

i already had a permanent residency/visa

How come? Have you been there since before the UK was part of the open-border arrangement or summat?

[farscythe]

@іди-на-хуй-Влад-formerly-known-as-Distraxi born here actually..grew up between here and the uk
at the time of my birth the netherlands still had the draft so my dad opted to go with a british nationality so i'd be exempt when i turned 18

[svend]

@іди-на-хуй-Влад-formerly-known-as-Distraxi
From the U.K. side, I know European friends were sent letters saying they could apply for a 'right to remain' if they were living and working here prior to a particular date you were almost guaranteed to be allowed to remain, after that date, you had to send documentation to support your request for your right to remain.
Most had been here since the borders opened to Poland.
I know France was in the press for a while being awkward at the time, and finds who had residence in Spain, well the Spanish were taking their time about dealing with applications.

[svend]

@farscythe
I can actually imagine you sat in the beer garden of a Wetherspoons, on curry day, curry and a pint for £6.99.

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@svend

I know France was in the press for a while being awkward at the time

Yes, I’ve got English friends who’d been living in France for years and wound up giving up and coming home because it all got too hard. And one of them’s a surgeon FFS - you’d have thought France would kill to hang onto them. But noooo….

[farscythe]

@svend i have absolutely done that yes...good value that place and the curries at least were consistently good...the breakfast too...specially hungover
ive found most everything else on the menu to be a gamble at best

[svend]

@іди-на-хуй-Влад-formerly-known-as-Distraxi
It's the French government. They were being all supportive at the same time telling people to move their companies and business to France from the U.K. as France would be more preferable and give them better opportunities.
Like having a mate who hates you at the same time.

[Cé hé sin]

@svend
Far away hills are always greener and so on.

[svend]

@Cé-hé-sin
He's a young lad but he's a grafter with his head screwed on and I want to be supportive of what he wants to do but don't want him wasting his time.
I know it's one of those things where you live and find out and put it down to experience but at the same time I don't want him coming, thinking it's bed of diamonds, only for him to get hurt, etc...

[e90m3]

@farscythe Do you speak Dutch? My SIL is married to a Dutch guy and they live in the Netherlands. She was saying that she has to speak Dutch to get citizenship there.

[farscythe]

@e90m3 i do speak dutch..the missus sorta speaks dutch... didnt seem to be much of an issue when she aplied for permanent residency
(edit) but then..she is still a british citizen..just with permanent residency and voting rights and all that shit...just like me
i guess if you go for a dutch passport and become a dutch citizen they have more stringent rules

[FourMalibus]

@svend said in My friend that came over from Germany....:

chilling in the sun.

Let's be honest, even visiting the UK isn't much chilling in the sun

But in all honesty, I enjoyed my visit to England and I really liked London. It was my favorite "real" city I visited while living in Europe.

[Bloody-the-resident-LandRover-apologist]

@farscythe I know the Swiss require you to be able to both read and write the language of your Canton (Swiss German, Italian, French ect...) If you're applying for citizenship, but the Swiss are a prickly sort.

@svend I enjoyed my time living and working in England, I lived in Hook near Basingstoke and would go into London a fair amount. There is nothing quite like going into the local pub and enjoying a pasty with a pint of bitters.

[davesaddiction]

@ForSweden

[FourMalibus]

@davesaddiction That is fucking gold!