In a country like the United Kingdom, where there are more than 180,000 Latin Americans, it is important that everyone takes part in and understands what this process called Brexit involves. To analyse this situation, an event in London will take place on 14th February.
Natacha Andueza Bosch
The Latin American immigrants who possess a European Passport will suffer the same consequences as other European citizens living in this country.
To continue legally residing in this country, after Brexit, they will have to fill in an application to prove their immigration status and successfully complete it under the new EU settlement framework. Both Latin Americans with European passports and non-Latin Americans with residency in the United Kingdom before 31 December 2020, will have until 30 June 2021 to make their application.
All those who are EU citizens must have applied for their immigration status to be able to continue living in the country legally before 1 July 2021.
According to the study, “No longer invisible: the Latin American community in London”, it is estimated that more than 185,000 Latin Americans reside in the United Kingdom, where more than half have settled; 25% have British citizenship, 19% have EU passports and 11% have permanent residency.
Due to this, in the month of February, Law Centres Network (LCN) is holding an event called: “When Brexit is ‘Done’, how can we support Latin Americans with EU Rights in the UK?”. T
his is to incentivise the Latin American community to participate in this reflective event which will help them to face the new reality that the country will be experiencing after Brexit.
The event has very specific objectives: to share the lessons that Latin Americans have learned throughout their stay in the United Kingdom, to place the findings of their knowledge in the context of helping to overcome legal and systematic barriers that they face, to learn from others’ best practice and to discuss the different implications for the future.
It is also known that different speakers will attend, among them are Professor Cathy McIlwaine ( King’s College London), Maria Noel Genne from the Latin American Women’s Rights Organisation (LAWRS), Isabelle Koksal from Housing Action Southwark & Lambeth, and immigration specialist, Sue Lukes among others.
It should be noted that this event forms part of the project by EU-Latin Americans Mobile and Participating (Eulamp), a product of work alongside Law Centres Network (LCN), EDUGEP (Portugal), Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organization (IRMO, UK), Lambeth Law Centre and Southwark Law Centre (UK). Eulamp has been operating since February 2018 and will conclude in April 2020.
This project includes an orientation programme prior to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, it is taking place in Portugal and will be aimed at Latin Americans from the EU who hope to exercise freedom of movement in the United Kingdom.
One of Eulamp’s goals is to improve the social, economic and civic participation of Latin Americans who have European passports in the United Kingdom, informing them of their rights and obligations, so that they can adapt more successfully to the new legal system.
LCN, the leader of the project, is fighting for a fair and equal society in which the rights of every human being are valued and protected. Because of this, they support a national network of Human Rights Centres, where they work with some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in society.
Date and place: Friday 14th February from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm. DLA Piper, 160 Aldersgate Street, Barbican, London, EC1A 4HT, United Kingdom.
For more information on this event, click here or visit Law Centres Network.
(Translated by Donna Davison. Email: donna_davison@hotmail.com)
.jpg)
