Other findings in the survey of almost 3,000 EU citizens living in the U.K., which was conducted by the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens Rights Agreements, an independent organization set up to protect the rights of EU citizens living in the U.K., found that trust in public bodies was low.
One in 4 respondents in the survey said they did not believe that they are currently treated equally to U.K. citizens and nearly 1 in 2 respondents did not have confidence that they will be treated equally in future, according to the research carried out over a six-week period from February to March this year.
A quarter of EU citizens living in the UK do not feel they are treated equally to UK citizens, according to the first survey of EU citizens by the watchdog set to protect their rights published on Thursday (13 May).
The survey of 3,000 EU nationals resident in the UK by the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA), also underscored a general lack of trust in UK public bodies.
A full 30% of respondents said that they were not confident their citizens’ rights will be upheld by public bodies. Meanwhile, 50% were not aware of their citizens’ rights; and 1 in 10 are considering leaving the UK after 30 June after the grace period for applications to the settlement scheme ends.
By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-05-12 09:19 Share CLOSE European Union and British flags flutter in front of a chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 9, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]
With just 50 days remaining until the British government s settlement program for European Union citizens in the United Kingdom closes, campaigners are warning that almost one third of a million people could find themselves in legal limbo because of a huge backlog in paperwork at the Home Office.
The Guardian newspaper reports that according to government figures, 5.3 million applications have been received, and so far 4.98 million have been processed, which means that with time running out, hundreds of thousands of others face a worrying wait to find out about their legal status in the country.
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