UK-EU Couples After Brexit

Spouse/partner migration is one of the largest sources of settlement migration to the UK. Existing research and political discourse focusses on (often ethnic minority) transnational marriage involving non-EU migrant partners, with little attention paid to the UK-EU couples who constitute around 4%, or one in 27, of all couples in the UK. As a consequence of Brexit, from 1st January 2021, such couples seeking to be reunited or remain in the UK or return from abroad to settle, must for the first time meet the requirements of the UK’s family immigration regime, including a minimum income and scrutiny of the ‘genuineness’ of their relationship. Previous research has documented negative consequences of these immigration rules in the form of family separation and hardship, and inequalities in access to family reunification. The significant post-Brexit expansion and change in the characteristics of the population now subject to these rules creates a form of ‘natural experiment’ ripe for research to document the personal, social and political impacts of this often overlooked consequence of the UK’s departure from the EU. This project seeks to capture the crucial initial phase of the incorporation of UK-EU relationships into the UK immigration regime; the impacts of this ‘migrantisation’ of a population with previously privileged mobility status; and the ways in which UK-EU couples respond to and negotiate this new encounter with legal barriers to their mobility and co-residence.

Before Brexit, couples with one UK and one EU (or EEA/ Swiss) partner could live together easily in the UK under EU law. Now, if the EU (EEA/Swiss) partner does not have settled or pre-settled status, they need a visa or leave to remain in the UK under the domestic immigration rules.

This project explores the overlooked impact of Brexit on couples when the EU (EEA/Swiss) partner must apply for leave as a spouse or partner under British immigration law. What experiences do these couples share? What different challenges do they face? What do UK immigration policy and systems look like from their perspectives? How does the inclusion of this new group affect perceptions of the UK immigration system?