From an expatriate to an illegal immigrant

WITH the bombastic Mayor of London backing the Brexit campaign, the referendum hangs on a knife edge. The Prime Minister is right to be worried as his friend turned foe has huge influence to sway the vote. More than 100 Conservative MPs have declared they want to leave the EU – including five cabinet ministers. 

A huge worry for those concerned by the referendum and the possibility of the UK leaving the EU is the unknown status of large numbers of expat communities, wantonly dismissed by Westminster as the ivory towers threaten to collapse under a bruised collective ego. 

A mass exodus of both British residents and Europeans from each other’s respective nations, could easily be the result of rampant bureaucracy gone mad in the wake of an exit from Europe.   

In a chilling statement, Dominic Grieve, former attorney general, has said: “An EU exit would instantly make two million Britons living abroad illegal immigrants.”

23/6/2016 is the date when David Cameron has announced the UK referendum on whether to remain in the EU or leave will be held

The UK referendum bill failed to even guarantee a vote for British people living abroad for more than 15 years, leaving a vast amount of expats barred from a process that directly relates to their future living in Spain. 

Fewer Brits relocating to Spain in the future would also have devastating consequences to expat businesses, reliant on British communities, as the flow of British expats diminishes. 

Unadulterated ignorance defines any grasp of the future relationship between Spain and the UK if Britain does indeed vote to leave the union, as the real details are about as settled as Boris’ hair in the wind. 

Will established British people living in Spain be forced to sell up and relocate back to the UK when faced with mammoth amounts of red tape and excessive taxes? What happens to healthcare charges for those of us in Spain? Will Sweden also go its own way? Will the EU collapse under the weight of its own ambition? If Scotland votes differently from England, is this the end of the United Kingdom? 

This isn’t a case of elephants in the room, there’s an outright zoo on the loose, and the arrival of another bumbling ape with a shock of exotic white hair shouldn’t make a damn of a difference. 

Forget the hype, follow your heart, educate yourself.