{"id":9894,"date":"2019-12-30T11:26:11","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T11:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/?p=9894"},"modified":"2019-12-30T13:27:03","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T13:27:03","slug":"eu-academics-no-thanks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sceptical.scot\/staging\/2019\/12\/eu-academics-no-thanks\/","title":{"rendered":"EU academics: no thanks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThe UK\u2019s university sector is one of our most valuable national assets,\u201d Prof Brian Cox, the University of Manchester academic and TV presenter, told me last week.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that UK higher education \u201cis a genuinely global industry generating billions of pounds in export earnings, one of the necessary foundations of our innovation-led economy and perhaps our strongest soft power asset; political and industrial leaders from all over the world were educated here in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which makes it all the more strange that the government should be \u2013 whether accidentally or deliberately \u2013 undermining them. Most of the Brexit commentary about UK universities has concentrated on issues of funding, research cooperation and students. Much less attention has been paid to what keeps universities running \u2013 academic staff \u2013 and what Brexit will mean for the 30,000-plus EU academics in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I arrived at a meeting a couple of weeks ago and noticed one of my academic colleagues was visibly distressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I asked what was wrong, they said they\u2019d just had a very alarming letter from the Home Office. Having lived and worked here for more than two decades (they\u2019re a national of another EU country) they decided to play it safe after the Brexit vote and apply for leave to remain. Big mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They received a threatening letter from the Home Office saying they had no right to be here and they should \u201cnow make arrangements to leave\u201d. The letter was obviously wrong \u2013 they had every right to be here under existing UK law \u2013 but that didn\u2019t lessen the emotional impact for my colleague, whose whole future was suddenly thrown into uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had read similar stories in the press, and wondered how many other academics might be affected, so I turned to Twitter to ask for any similar experiences. The tweet I posted asking for examples was retweeted \u2013 mostly by concerned academics \u2013 over 1,000 times. People started writing to me with cases and I began digging into the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing that struck me was the level of fear, anger and disgust \u2013 and in some cases resignation. I have disguised individual cases \u2013 that\u2019s because few people are willing to speak openly, such is the degree of fear about what might happen after Brexit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact on individuals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some EU academics (along with others) who have been living and working legally in the UK for years decided, after 23 June, that they should try to cement their position by applying for one or other of the various routes to permanent residency. The procedures are daunting and of Kafkaesque complexity \u2013 one form runs to 85 pages and requires forms of proof that make acquiring Catholic sainthood look simple. As a result many applications are failing \u2013 but it is the form of the rejection that is causing much concern. A typical letter from the Home Office says (in part):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you appear to have no alternative basis of stay in the United Kingdom you should now make arrangements to leave. If you fail to make a voluntary departure a separate decision may be made at a later date to enforce your removal\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This appears to be a fairly typical \u2018prepare to leave\u2019 letter, variations on which have been sent to \u2018failed\u2019 applicants \u2013 even though they are currently here perfectly legally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more worryingly, the decision on whether to accept or reject these applications is based on the \u201cNationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and Regulation 26 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006\u201d, to quote the letter again. The latter will be repealed in the Great Repeal Bill planned by the government, which could rescind any \u2018right to remain\u2019 granted under existing law and regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Cox sums up the situation very well when he told me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have spent decades \u2013 centuries arguably \u2013 building a welcoming and open atmosphere in our universities and, crucially, presenting that image to an increasingly competitive world. We\u2019ve been spectacularly successful; many of the world’s finest researchers and teachers have made the UK their home, in good faith. A few careless words have already damaged our carefully cultivated international reputation, however. I know of few, if any, international academics, from within or outside the EU, who are more comfortable in our country now than they were pre-referendum. This is a recipe for disaster.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Another academic colleague said: \u201cas an academic I\u2019m embarrassed and ashamed of [the] UK government\u2019s stance on EU citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One academic told me: \u201cthe Home Office is hedging its bets because we non-UK [academics] are now effectively hostages.\u201d A neuroscientist from the EU at a top UK university reacted with defiance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

for what it’s worth, I refuse to apply for a piece of paper [leave to remain] that I don\u2019t need and won\u2019t be valid after Brexit \u2013 when current law says I don\u2019t need it. It\u2019s just a certificate. They can stick their 85-page form up their arses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The level of anxiety is obvious: \u201cI\u2019m about to submit my permanent residency application. Any pointers from the rejections you\u2019ve seen so far? Scary times ahead\u2026\u201d Another said: \u201cas an Irish citizen I am assuming the Ireland Act will continue to provide my right to be here. But\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A policy specialist from Oxford said: \u201cpeople have been turned down for administrative reasons alone. The Home Office looks for any reason to say \u2018no\u2019 at the moment.\u201d Or as another, retired, academic puts it, this is just \u201cinhuman bureaucracy\u201d at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How representative is all this? A recent survey of academics<\/a> conducted by YouGov for the University and College Union (UCU) found that an overwhelming majority (90%) said Brexit will have a negative impact on UK higher education. Three-quarters (76%) of non-UK EU academics said they were more likely to consider leaving UK higher education. A third (29%) said they already know of academics leaving the UK, and over two-fifths (44%) said they know of academics who have lost access to research funding as a direct result of Brexit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impact on universities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

UK universities are heavily dependent on academics from the EU. To cater for our global audience we need to attract the brightest and best and Europe is, unsurprisingly, a major source for such talent. Over 31,000 UK university academics come from the EU \u2013 sixteen percent of the total (all figures calculated from the Higher Education Statistics Agency data for 2014\/15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Editors’ note: Universities Scotland<\/a> says staff from the EEA (European Economic Area) and elsewhere make up 22.3% of the workforce at Scotland’s 19 HE institutions. “Scotland\u2019s HE workforce is made up of 14.8% of non-EU and 20% of EU staff in academic and professional roles.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this national figure underestimates just how important EU academics are to our top-rated universities. The London School of Economics has 38% EU academic staff. Other prominent London colleges \u2013 Imperial, King\u2019s, University College London \u2013 have between a quarter and nearly a third. Oxford has 24% and Cambridge 22%. My own university, Manchester, has 18% and most of the Russell Group of \u2018research universities\u2019 are in the top ranks of EU academic staff employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EU academics are equally important in the core subject areas that are vital to our long-term economic health. So areas like physics (26%), chemical engineering (25%), biosciences (22%), chemistry (21%) and IT (20%) are all heavily reliant on European talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our global status isn\u2019t, of course, just dependent on EU academics \u2013 UK experts are our bedrock (70%) \u2013 but the other 30% that come from the EU and the rest of the world are an important part of our global status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Losing this talent \u2013 whether through demoralisation or deliberate design \u2013 would have catastrophic effects. As Brian Cox puts it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministers must consider our global reputation before uttering platitudinous sound-bites for domestic consumption, and think much more carefully about how to ensure that the UK remains the best place in the world to educate and to be educated. [UK Universities] are everything the government claims it wants our country to become; a model for a global future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The current rhetoric is the absolute opposite of what is required. The UK appears, from outside, to be increasingly unwelcoming and backward looking.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

They should be even more careful about the policies they enact and the way they are implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Home Office\u2019s at best clumsy and at worse malicious handling of residency claims is causing huge distress and damage to our reputation. I am already hearing cases of EU nationals leaving, or planning to leave, because of the uncertain and unwelcoming future they now face. One academic lawyer acquaintance has already moved. We don\u2019t know how many EU academics we\u2019ll lose now, or in the future, as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is reposted from the LSE Brexit<\/a> blog and is published under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 UK<\/a> license. It is an edited version of the post that first appeared on the author\u2019s personal<\/a> blog.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading: Universities Scotland<\/a> evidence to the Home Office’s independent Migration Advisory Committee<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scotland hit by brain drain, The National<\/a>, 28 December 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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