‘I increasingly felt less welcome’: Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, 53, German



Returned in 2017



As a family we moved to the UK in the autumn of 2004. The rights associated with EU citizenship were core to my decision to accept the offer of teaching at the University of Oxford. However, after having contributed to UK higher education for more than a decade, I increasingly felt less welcome as the political discourse on “benefit tourism” developed over the years. The decision by the British electorate to vote for Brexit was the final tipping point for our decision to leave.



Having spent only very little of my professional life in Germany, working at one of Germany’s leading universities is a new and exciting experience. The University of Tübingen has been more than welcoming and not only recruited me, but also two further members of my team, both EU citizens, from Oxford. Here we continue our work on the social rights of EU citizens.

‘I didn’t like the prospect of having to queue for hours to cross the border’: Una, Irish

Returned in 2016



After studying and working in the NHS, I moved back home. The original motivation behind my move was saving to buy a house. However during the time I was moving, the junior doctors’ strike, Brexit, increasing anti-European sentiment and chronic, dangerous underfunding of the NHS derailed my plans. The final nail in the coffin was the comments of the health secretary, which implied European doctors would no longer be welcome in the NHS. And, of course, the prospect of having to queue for hours to cross the border.



The Irish health service is not without its problems but the essentials of good-quality public service healthcare remain the same. Tax is slightly higher here, but then again so is my salary. The training I am getting in my chosen specialty is superior to that offered in the UK. It’s good to be home.

‘Brexit felt like a massive spit in the face’: Krzysztof, 25, Polish



Returned in 2017



I worked as an aerospace engineer in the UK but there ended up being too much propaganda against the Polish, and Brexit felt like a massive spit in the face to all who are not British. It was a shame that after 10 years of living in a country I thought was my home, I’ve been so brutally asked to get out. The UK is growing inward, but the government, instead of educating people about the benefits of migration (both to them and to the migrants), has decided to use us as scapegoats to cover their incompetence.

Poland is considerably better since I left as a teenager 10 years ago, so I decided to try it here. There’s better weather, I have more money left over after expenses and I can actually afford to buy a house. Most important of all nobody tells me to ‘go home’. What’s not to like?



‘The UK has gone backwards in its attitude towards non-English’: Rolph, Dutch



In the process of returning

I have lived in the UK for more than 50 years and I am disgusted with the way England feels like it has turned its back on the UK. The government has misled its citizens by only concentrating on the money we would be getting back and the way the UK can control immigration once we leave the EU. It is not possible to make a direct comparison between the two countries, but during my time in the UK I feel it has gone backwards in its attitude towards non-English.



‘I couldn’t look people in the eye after Brexit’: Cat, Swedish

Moved to Italy



There were many factors that made us leave: the pollution and the way the English school system is stuck in Victorian times to name but a few. Then came Brexit. This turned everything upside down. I couldn’t look people in the eye anymore. Even those who voted remain were being flippant about it. I wasn’t allowed to be angry. Italy has got plenty of problems but the Italians are kinder and a bit more straightforward. We live in a house that we bought for less than the cost of a one-bed in London. We are surrounded by green and amazing views, have a pool and 1,000 olive trees. We want to live differently and try to give our children a different perspective on life.

‘I can plan my life as a person – not as a bargaining chip’: Miguel Lopes, 24, Portuguese

Returned in 2017

Since the Brexit vote I have felt very unwelcome. Seeing things such as landlords refusing to rent to EU citizens, permanent residency cards not having any effect after Brexit and the limbo we are being subjected to has made me decide to leave. Real wages have dropped too, especially for people who have to send money abroad to pay their expenses back home. It is not worth being away from your loved ones in exchange for hatred and low standards of living.



I am currently living with less money in my pocket but I can finally plan my life and know what is ahead of me as a person – not as a bargaining chip. I had a partner when I was in the UK who unfortunately was not in a position to return with me, but who understood the reasons behind my decision. After being back I’m finally being able to find myself again. I would never go back to the UK unless things changed radically and it became the country it once was.