Concerns have been raised about the number of migrants born outside the EU who are able to make their way to Britain legally by gaining citizenship in another European country.
Research by Oxford University’s Migration Observatory has shown that the number of immigrants in Britain under the European Union’s ‘freedom of movement’ rights who are not natives of the nation from which they entered has more than tripled in the last decade.
The research showed there are now 264,000 foreigners in Britain who were born outside Europe and then obtained EU citizenship by living in another European country. In 2004 the number stood at just 78,000.
Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of MigrationWatch which campaigns for tougher immigration controls, said:
“This increasing flow could become a back door to Britain.
“The issue of passports is the responsibility of the individual EU countries and these passports carry with them the right to free movement.
“This development strengthens the case for stronger controls on access to the UK which is now freely granted to EU migrants.”
More than a fifth of the total – 54,000 migrants – came to Britain after first living in Portugal. The second largest group came via Italy, with 36,000, followed by France (33,000), Spain (30,000), Ireland (21,000) and the Netherlands (19,000).
In terms of their country of birth, the largest group detailed in the Oxford University research came from India, with 24,000 arrivals, followed by South Africa (15,000), North America (14,000), Brazil (13,000) and Sri Lanka (11,000).
The research, based on data from the official Labour Force Survey, does not reveal how long the migrating EU citizens lived in other European countries before coming to Britain. However, their average ago was 38 and they were slightly less likely to be in work than other EU citizens. Figures showed 73 per cent were in employment, compared with the EU average of 80 per cent.
Three out of 10 were in professional jobs or management roles – a proportion higher than the 22 per cent average.
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, said: “EU migrants who were born outside the EU are a small share of the UK’s migrant population, but they have distinctive characteristics.
“Interestingly, they have been more successful in finding high-skilled work than people born in the EU.
“British citizens can live and work in other EU countries, whether they were born in the UK or not. Citizens of other EU counties have the same rights in the UK.”
Figures from 2011 showed Britain had the second largest number of non-EU born nationals, at 210,000 or seven per cent of the population. The only country with more was Germany, with 10 per cent or 245,000 people.
Government data shows that in 2014 the number of households headed by a foreign-born person was 3.73 million, compared with 1.98 million in 1997.
Birth in an EU country is not a pre-requisite for citizenship of that country. For example, in the first quarter of 2015, the UK was home to more than 3 million British citizens who were born overseas. This would include people who migrated to the UK and were granted UK citizenship after a period of residence, as well as people born abroad to British parents and thus eligible for citizenship by descent.
Similarly, other EU countries that have been destinations for international migrants have significant populations of foreign born citizens. At the time of the EU Census in 2011, for example, 9% of German citizens were born outside of Germany, 7% of French nationals were born outside of France, and 6% of Irish nationals were born outside of Ireland. Particularly in Western Europe, many countries have become more culturally and ethnically diverse as a result of immigration.
From a legal perspective, citizenship is much more important than country of birth. Citizens of a particular country generally have equal rights, regardless of where they were born or why they were eligible for nationality.
When it comes to EU free movement, citizens of any EU member state have the right to live and work in other EU countries, and one should expect people exercising these rights to include both EU born and non-EU born EU citizens. For example, a British citizen who was born in Canada can live and work in elsewhere in the EU, and EU countries are legally precluded from discriminating against a British citizen on the basis of their country of birth. UK has the same legal obligations in regard to citizens of other EU countries.
