Britain could be forced to take HALF A MILLION refugees who acquire EU citizenship
BRITAIN could be forced to take up to half a million refugees and their families after they acquire EU citizenship in four years time, a new report reveals.
Between 240,000 and 480,000 of the refugees who have already arrived in the EU, together with the dependants who will join them, could move to the UK once they acquire EU citizenship having landed on European shores over the past few years, a Migration Watch UK has found.
The figure includes an estimate of subsequent family members with a right to join those granted protection from 2020 onwards.
It does not include any future arrivals who might be granted asylum in other EU member states.
The report is the first to attempt to analyse the potential impact of the EU migrant crisis on the United Kingdom.
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This report brings yet more evidence of the uncontrollable scale of immigration to this country
Official Eurostat data shows, in 2015 and the first quarter of 2016, 460,000 migrants have been granted asylum or humanitarian protection in EU countries and 876,000 applications are yet to be decided.
If the protection grant rate continues as it has, then an additional 508,000 people will be granted asylum, bringing the total number granted refugee status in EU countries to 968,000 for 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 alone.
According to leaked estimates from the German authorities, each person granted asylum is likely to be followed by between four and eight family members.
Migration Watch took the lower estimate that only four family members would follow.
This suggests the total inflow to Europe could amount to 4.8 million over a period of years - without taking account of any future arrivals who might successfully claim asylum.
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The paper notes the factors which could draw migrants from the EU to the UK, including easy to find low skilled entry-level work requiring little local knowledge.
The English language, existing migrant communities and a reputation for tolerance and fairness are particular draws.
Research has shown between a third and half of the Somalis granted asylum in the Netherlands have relocated to the UK, demonstrating that migrants move even from wealthier EU nations where these other factors are at play.
Between 240,000 and 480,000 could arrive in the UK in the years following 2020 if, in the light of these factors, between 5 and 10 per cent of these 4.8m refugees and their family members chose to come to the UK after acquiring the EU citizenship to which they will become entitled in due course - which the UK has no control over.
Leave campaigner, Iain Duncan Smith MP, said: “This report brings yet more evidence of the uncontrollable scale of immigration to this country.
“The Remain campaign may try to tell you that immigration and the economy are separate, but the truth is that they are fundamentally linked.
“Immigration is an economic issue because it has had a big impact on people's wages - forcing them down, even as the cost of living has risen. It has also had a dramatic impact on people’s ability to afford their own homes, and their ability to access good public services. To coin a phrase "immigration is the economy, stupid'.
“Big banks and highly paid corporate executives may fail to realise the link - because they have the means to afford alternatives, As always, when public services are under pressure it is those without those same resources who suffer.
“With four million people coming to this country over the last decade - and four million more due to arrive in the next - there will be serious consequences for the British people. The truth is that we can do nothing about this for as long as we remain in the European Union - the only way to take back control of our borders and our immigration policy is to Vote Leave on 23 June.”
The Migration Watch UK report also said the migrant crisis is far from over, with Europol and Interpol confirming there are approximately 800,000 migrants waiting in Libya to cross into the EU when the weather improves.
And the EU/Turkey deal, whereby all migrants crossing the Aegean from Turkish shores are returned is under pressure.
The deal is dependent on the EU granting Turkish nationals visa free travel to the Schengen zone but President Erdogan may not be willing to meet the requirements outlined in the EU’s ‘roadmap’.
Lord Green of Deddington, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: “The UK could well face a significant secondary flow of refugees from Europe in the coming years adding to the already huge strain being placed on housing and public services.
“While the UK has so far been largely shielded from the crisis in Southern Europe, this potential flow can only add to the impact of migration which is already seriously affecting communities across the country.”
