Young Europeans in the UK after Brexit : socio-economic legacies as a barrier to mobility and citizenship

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Botterill, Kate and Sojka, Bozena and Sime, Daniela and McCollum, David; Moreh, Chris and Pietka-Nykaza, Emilia and MGhee, Derek, eds. (2026) Young Europeans in the UK after Brexit : socio-economic legacies as a barrier to mobility and citizenship. In: Handbook on Brexit and Migration. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham. (In Press)

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Abstract

This chapter draws on longitudinal qualitative data from a three-year ESRC-funded project on young Europeans in post-Brexit Britain. Using two waves of survey data (2023–2024), it examines how young European residents reflect on Brexit’s impacts a decade after the referendum, alongside wider pressures including the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and the war in Ukraine. The analysis identifies three enduring legacy effects: financial strain and delayed life plans; increased competition and reduced mobility; and fractured belonging and connections. These interlinked constraints extend beyond legal status to shape emotional, economic, and existential dimensions of youth migration, producing durable and unequal impacts structured by race, gender, and nationality. While young people actively adapt and strategise, they face ongoing uncertainty, compounded by the UK’s digitalised visa system. The chapter highlights how Brexit has reconfigured belonging and citizenship, creating conditional futures that challenge the inclusivity of contemporary Britain.

ORCID iDs

Botterill, Kate, Sojka, Bozena ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4045-9380, Sime, Daniela ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3207-5456 and McCollum, David; Moreh, Chris, Pietka-Nykaza, Emilia and MGhee, Derek
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)