Not leaving: The Maltese living in the Brexit Kingdom

Around 31,000 Maltese citizens live in the United Kingdom, while around 1,000 students from Malta are following courses at British universities. Many of these are able to work and study there as a result of the EU’s free movement of persons principle.

Theresa May has tried to reassure the UK’s 3.2 million EU citizens that they will be able to remain in the country and apply for ‘settled status’.

We spoke to a few Maltese in the UK to gauge how they felt about Brexit, which is currently scheduled for March 29, 2019.

From left: Edward Fenech, Nikki Abela, Charlene Borg

Tragic reality

Edward Fenech and his wife moved to the UK with their two children in 2008 – both hold professional jobs, and their children attend university.

Fenech refers to Brexit as ‘a tragic reality’ brought on by former Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘naïve’ decision to hold an EU membership referendum.

Although EU citizens can apply for ‘settled status’ from 2018, which he and his family would be doing, he said that in reality nobody really knows if this would bring with it the same security they could enjoy before Brexit.

“I am, however, pleased that the EU has played very hard when dealing with the rights of EU citizens in the UK. In some ways I think little will change for people who already live here, but I am concerned about the restrictions on the opportunities of other people who would like to come here,” he explained.

Fenech said that, ideally, all his family would be able to continue living and working in Britain and he hoped that their current rights, including being able to vote, would remain untouched. However, if things turned sour, they could always live in Malta or the other 26 EU member states.

“The British would only have the Republic of Ireland to move to after Brexit, so who’s the real loser?” he asked.

The UK would be diminished following its EU departure and would incur significant economic damage which would have its worst affects on the working classes in the industrial north, who ironically voted heavily to leave, he maintained.

Saddened not to be living in the EU

Nikki Abela, a doctor in emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine, who has lived in Liverpool for six years, reflected Fenech’s sentiments, telling us that she was saddened she’d no longer be living in a EU country.

“I don’t think the UK will benefit from Brexit in terms of stability, however, there were a lot of UK citizens who did not identify with the EU, and I understand that this was behind their reason to leave,” she said.

Since she has been in the UK with her family for over five years and works in a sector which is in high-demand, she felt she would still be secure being in the UK.

However, EU citizens in the UK currently benefit from a streamlined system and less paperwork, and it remains to be seen how this will evolve once negotiations progress, she said.

“Brexit has created a feeling, among EU citizens, of being ‘not wanted’. Those who voted to leave made it seem like they can pick and choose whom they want here,” she remarked.

She hopes that Malta’s Commonwealth ties will mean the UK will remain an attractive country for the Maltese.

“It is up to our politicians to wave the Commonwealth flag and put on the table the strong ties between our two countries to ensure the security, not only of Maltese in the UK, but also of the British citizens settled in Malta and all the tourism and commerce that goes on between the countries,” she asserted.

Until the negotiations have brought a clearer idea of how Brexit will impact EU citizens, she doesn’t feel she can consider the option of leaving, quipping that “if the infamous British weather hasn’t driven us away yet, I doubt Brexit will.”

Future looks secure

A young Maltese professional working in London’s luxury goods sector for the past three and a half years, who preferred to remain anonymous, told us that she wasn’t sure if those who voted to leave fully understood the repercussions.

“I believe, however, that my future here is secure. I think anyone already living in the UK will have less to worry about, as opposed to those who might try to move here later,” she said.

Mirroring other comments, she said that the UK would be less appealing to live in, especially because major businesses might think twice before remaining in the country or setting up there, which would impact the opportunities available.

She does not feel that attitudes towards EU citizens have changed much, noting however that the situation in smaller cities and towns might be different to that in London.

Worried about rights

Charlene Borg, who attended college and university in the UK and is now working there full-time, by virtue of her rights as an EU citizen, told us that while she hopes such rights will loosely remain the same, she is not completely confident about this.

“I am worried whether my access to the UK’s National Health Service will remain the same, and whether I will still be able to enjoy certain benefits if I fall ill or become pregnant,” she said.

“More reassurance is needed for EU citizens. Nothing is set in stone yet, and the home office communications have been vague sometimes.”

Borg said that Brexit made the UK look less attractive, and she couldn’t help but feel that she is not wanted in the country.

Despite this, the UK had now become her home, with her family and her partner all living there, and she would rather not move back to Malta.

“My partner is British, and all my immediate family have British citizenship or enjoy dual nationality – I am the only one who is only a Maltese citizen.”

“Theresa May said we would be able to gain ‘settled status’, against payment. If it would make life easier, I would consider applying for British citizenship, although this is quite expensive,” she said.

Stumbling blocks for the UK

We spoke with a Maltese woman – who has lived in the UK for the last 14 years, but also preferred to remain unnamed – who told us that while she doesn’t completely agree with Brexit in principle, she fully understands the reason why a majority voted to leave.

She maintained that the EU had been creating various stumbling blocks and using blackmail tactics to hinder Brexit. Giving an alternative view to the UK’s exit, she said that leaving would not make the country any less attractive, and that there was room for expansion and development once it happened.

“Understandably, things are going to be a bit rough for the first few years. But the British are resilient, innovative and inventive and will ‘re-group’ after all this boils over,” she opinionated.

The woman, who is married to a British citizen, told us that she applied for British citizenship when the referendum had been announced, and her dual nationality now grants her all the security she previously enjoyed as an EU citizen.

She said that she never experienced anything untoward in terms of British attitudes towards EU citizens in their country.

However, she acknowledged that some British workers, especially those in lower-skilled jobs, were resentful about the number of EU workers taking their jobs.

“We moved to Cornwall just for that reason, as the Midlands and Greater London areas have such a great influx of workers that opportunities are limited for the locals,” she added.

It is apparent, at least from those we spoke to, that Maltese living in the UK are generally opposed to Brexit and somewhat uncertain if their existing situation and rights will remain unchanged.

However, it seems that there is also some understanding of the reasons why Britons decided to leave the EU, even though this might not have been the best way forward.