Bruno Pollet is a scientist who came to Coventry from Grenoble 25 years ago as part of the Erasmus university exchange programme.
He had the choice of the UK, Spain or Germany at the time. After the Brexit vote, he jokes: “I wish I had gone to Barcelona instead.”
Now a visiting professor of energy and environment at Ulster University and a researcher for a power company in Swansea, he says he feels like a second-class citizen despite the contributions he has made over the past two decades.
“After the Tory conference, we are being told we are the scum of the earth, coming here and taking jobs from British people, when that is not the case. There is a skills shortage in my area,” he says.
Married to a Scottish woman with a two-year-old son, he now finds himself questioning where his future lies.
“We are trying to put a plan together. Do we stay here or do we go elsewhere like Canada or New Zealand where there is a shortage of scientists,” he says.
“It is not just an economic argument. It is a cultural one. We come to this country because we like it and although I am proud Frenchman, I live like a British man.
“Now I am asking questions. Do I want my son bullied in school because he is half-French?”
He feels that in order to protect his family he must now apply for a permanent residence certificate, which involves completing an 80-page application normally required of non-European Economic Area or Swiss nationals but not EU citizens.
“It is lots and lots of paperwork. For example you have to declare the number of days you were out of the country to demonstrate a continuous permanent residence over a five-year period.
“In my case, that means I have to tell them each time I was out of the country since 1991. Luckily I am quite obsessed with paperwork and file everything, but most people wouldn’t have a record of travel abroad going back that far.
“You also need bank statements, statements of council tax, P60s, payslips for five years.
“I’ve also had to ask HMRC for a list of taxes I’ve paid since 1991. I worked in a pub when I came here first so I need evidence for that too,” he says.
Others who have contacted the Guardian are reporting a “nightmare” experience with the paperwork, but they feel they have no choice if they want to stay in Britain.
One woman said her bank refused to provide her with six years’ worth of bank statements.
“Many of us are applying for the permanent residency these days. We don’t feel secure and we don’t have any guarantee that we’ll be able to stay. It’s our perception. We all feel unwelcome. I think that for many of us getting the PR is a way to gain some more protection.
“Maybe no one will deport us, but there is a lot of ignorance on the EU citizens living in the UK and some employers may believe that it’s not worth employing us,” she says.
