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| - Nearly half of European Union nationals living in post-Brexit Britain fear they will lose rights and not be treated the same as UK citizens in future, according to a survey released Thursday. Provided they registered under a settlement scheme, EU nationals already living in Britain before the end of 2020 retained the same rights to live, work and access social security despite Britain's departure from the bloc. A majority of respondents to the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) study said they were currently treated the same as British citizens. But 44 percent said they were not confident that would last. The findings coincide with media reports this week that some European citizens are being detained on arrival at UK airports and even sent to immigration removal centres, amid confusion over post-Brexit rules. Interior ministry guidelines bar non-visa holders from visiting Britain to work but allow them to attend "meetings, conferences, seminars, interviews", and "negotiate and sign deals and contracts". However, The Guardian found numerous cases of Europeans arriving for job interviews among those denied entry and locked up for days ahead of expulsion. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman told reporters the "vast majority" were experiencing no issues entering Britain and government messages made clear some "may be refused permission to enter the border". "EU citizens are our friends and neighbours. We want them to remain in the UK," he said. "For those that are coming in, we have done a lot of work to share information across the EU to encourage EU nationals to check what documentation and visas are necessary." The IMA was set up under the UK-EU divorce treaty to protect the rights of EU citizens in Britain after Brexit. It polled some 3,000 people from the 27 EU member countries. A "significant minority has a lack of trust" in institutions to defend their rights, IMA executive director Kathryn Chamberlain told a news conference. Half of respondents said they were "not aware of their citizen rights", with only 48 percent aware that their professional qualifications are equally recognised in the EU and in Britain. One in 10 respondents plans to leave Britain after June 30, when a grace period for the settlement scheme ends. Some of the reasons cited for a possible departure include a "lack of trust" in the government, a feeling that Britain is a "less welcoming place" because of Brexit, and concerns their rights "would not be upheld by public bodies". There were 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK in 2019, according to an estimate by the Office for National Statistics. The interior ministry announced Thursday it has received more than 5.4 million applications to the settlement scheme, and said it has launched a new campaign urging remaining eligible people to apply. bur-jj/jit/bp
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