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Issues in Belgium due to Brexit
Hi,
Out of curiousity, has anyone faced problems/ discrimination in getting a permanent employment contract, or renting/ buying a home due to Brexit?
Reason I ask is because I'm British ( lived in Belgium for quite a while now) but looking for work and possibly a new home next year but I have this feeling companies and people are worried as I get asked questions about it all the time.
TIA
Hello,
Well, if you have only the British Nationality it would seems logic that all the jobs related to the European Union (ex : European Commission, European Parliament, Council of the European Union, etc) cannot be taken by British because these institutions concern only the European Union.
For the rest, they will be discusion between United Kingdom and the EU but I think they will be no problems for the others jobs.
But it would be interesting to know how citizens from Norway, Switzerland or Iceland are dealing with jobs in Belgium.
"lived in Belgium for quite a while now"
How long? If you've been in Belgium for 5 years, you should just apply for Belgian citizenship.
Or, if you have a parent or grandparent that was born in N. Ireland or Ireland apply for Irish citizenship. Solves all your problems.
There is no logical reason why you would have difficulty finding a home or a job due to Brexit. Of course, you may come across others who think otherwise, normally the clowns who think all the Brits are going to get thrown out and all the continentals are going to get kicked out the UK. It's not going to happen and frankly, if I came across a possible landlord or employer that thought it might, I would consider that fair warning that I don't want to rent from them or be employed by them.
You will only get anecdotal evidence of people being refused jobs because of British nationality. I have heard of it happening to someone, but I can't guarantee that it was the real reason.
Think about it from an employer's point of view, though. If you have two equally good candidates, and there is no certainty that one candidate will be able to stay in two years' time, you would obviously choose the other one. This isn't scaremongering, it's common sense.
Unlike Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, ... who are EFTA members and have special relationshios with EU, UK is heading for "hard Brexit" as there is no agreement within Cabinet what it should be and the decisions are made by Daily Mail and Murdoch papers. As mentioned above, better to have an EU passport (Belgian, Irish, ...) to avoid problems. The Home Office is acting very differntly to what May, Boris, etc. state so there is no UK position you can rely on. Sad but true.
Belgians are still perfectly happy employing Brits. No problems there. If you already have permanent residency, you'll also have employment rights here for at least long enough to get Belgian (and hence EU) citizenship.
Don't worry about it.
