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BREXIT

Why east German city Görlitz is courting Poles in Britain

Poles living in Britain may receive a surprise package in the post this Christmas of dried mushrooms, candied fruit and spice cake -- not from Santa, but someone with a less altruistic motive.

Published: 8 December 2020 10:15 CET
Why east German city Görlitz is courting Poles in Britain
Izabela Jucha, a Polish woman who used to live in the UK but whose daughter now goes to school in Görlitz. Photo: AFP/John MacDougall

The parcels of Polish and German delicacies are being sent by the city of Görlitz in Germany's former communist East, as part of efforts to attract Poles in Britain who are tempted to return to the continent because of Brexit.

Faced with labour shortages and an ageing population, the city on the border with Poland has been running a campaign over the past year aimed at the some 900,000 Poles currently living in the UK.

READ ALSO: Eastern German town of Görlitz named best filming location in Europe

Around 100,000 have already left since Britain's referendum on leaving the European Union in 2016.

The campaign has included adverts in British newspapers, a Facebook page and a website with an FAQ in three languages where Poles can find answers to questions such as “Can I transfer my company's headquarters,” “Will my health insurance cover me when I arrive in Görlitz,” and “Can I work in Görlitz without language skills?”

The city's reasonable rents, architectural gems and picturesque cobbled streets are also highlighted as selling points.


Archive photo shows summer tourists in Görlitz's picturesque old town. Photo: DPA
Bilingual classes

Görlitz is a home away from home for Poles, according to Andrea Behr, in charge of investment strategy for the city authorities and head of the project.

“If you go into a bakery, you might well be served by a Polish woman… If you go to nurseries or schools, you will find bilingual classes,” she said.

Some 4,000 of the city's 57,000 inhabitants are Polish, and many others commute across the border every day, drawn by the more generous salaries on the other side of the Neisse river.

Görlitz is just a short hop across the John Paul II road bridge from its Polish twin town of Zgorzelec.

Like most of the former communist East Germany, Görlitz has seen its population decline since German reunification.

The glitz and glamour of “Görliwood”, the city's nickname since blockbusters such as “The Grand Budapest Hotel” were filmed there, cannot disguise crumbling facades, boarded-up windows and derelict factories.

Last year, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party found itself in a position to conquer the town hall in Görlitz, with the traditional parties forming an awkward alliance to block it.

“On average, for every child that is born, two people die. In a few years' time, we will be facing a major labour shortage,” said Behr.

The shortage is already making itself felt. From research to blue-collar and manual trades, IT and the medical sector, jobs are not being filled due to a lack of candidates.

Last year, Görlitz's main hospital placed an advert in a major British daily newspaper urging Poles to consider returning home.

The hospital's management did not wish to comment on the advert.

German salaries

According to the mayor of Zgorzelec, Rafal Gronicz, “most of those leaving the UK will want to maintain the same standard of living and will certainly not return to Poland.”

A view of the Saints Peter and Paul Church (Peterskirche) on the banks of the river Neisse in the historical centre of Görlitz. Photo: AFP/John MacDougall

In Görlitz, “they can earn German wages and at the same time be closer to their families, to their country,” he said.

Izabela Jucha is one of those who have already made the move. After moving to the UK when Poland joined the EU in 2004, she now lives in the region with her husband and their daughter, who goes to school in Görlitz.

The family live on the Polish side but Jucha is learning German in the hope of developing her career in human resources in Görlitz, which “presents better economic opportunities”.

READ ALSO: A portrait of Görlitz, the city that could elect Germany's first AfD mayor

Brexit “marked a leap into the unknown… We didn't know if we were going to lose our jobs,” said the 30-year-old, who lived for 12 years in Northampton and Kettering, England, and then in Canada.

“The future of our 14-year-old daughter was a determining factor in our decision,” she said. “The education system here is very good, and free.”

It remains to be seen how successful the Görlitz campaign will be, especially since it was suspended for several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Moving to a foreign country is not something that can be done overnight,” Behr said. “We must therefore take a long-term view.”

By Yannick Pascuet

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BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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