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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Letters

Why a vote to leave may not cut numbers coming to the UK from the EU

A Ryanair plane
‘Ryanair has regular flights from Dublin to Romania, Poland, Portugal and Greece,’ points out our reader Paul Corley. Photograph: Josep Lago/AFP/Getty Images

Whether or not one agrees that immigration is a threat to the UK, the numbers coming here from the EU will surely increase significantly during the “interregnum” – maybe two years or longer. Also, what will happen to the many British working in the EU when/if we leave? Won’t these be less able to work in the EU then? They may well choose to return to the UK. So, if we choose to leave, we can expect a significant increase in the numbers arriving from the EU seeking work – presumably the very outcome that leavers fear?
Michael Taylor
Amersham, Buckinghamshire

• EU immigrants denied a UK work permit under a new “points system” will simply fly legally within the EU to Dublin, cross to Northern Ireland and take a boat to Britain. This will create a new black market in labour in the UK and blow a huge hole in leave’s attempts to limit total net migration to 50,000 a year. These people will pay no tax or national insurance and many will likely be paid less than the living wage. Ryanair has regular flights from Dublin to Romania, Poland, Portugal and Greece. A single fare from Bucharest to Dublin on the day after the referendum costs €70.
Paul Corley
London

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

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