WoRC volunteers: London Is Open – Volunteering for the Mayor of London’s campaign to support European Londoners secure their status in the UK
By Adina Maglan - 05 April 2019
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has launched on Friday, 29 March 2019, a ‘LondonIsOpen’ bus on a four-day tour of the capital, providing advice and guidance to European nationals who wish to remain in London post-Brexit.
Our Development Manager, Adina Maglan, volunteered on Sunday, 31st March and Monday, 1st April alongside the Mayor of London’s team and many other volunteers from support organisations. They spoke to EU Londoners about the Settled Status and the new EU Londoners Hub. Immigration advisers offered free advice on how to apply for the (Pre)Settled Status.
Local businesses owned by or employing EU nationals have also been very supportive. They have agreed to display and share the leaflets produced by the City Hall, available in many community languages. It is important to see how communities build their resilience when facing such challenges, and how businesses take on an active role, becoming community hubs.
Adina has been particularly interested in speaking to EU Londoners about their work rights in the context of Brexit. Most recently, our charity has come across terminology otherwise unfamiliar to EU nationals: illegal migrants or illegal workers. The (pre)settled status will give workers the rights to stay and work in the UK. The major challenge is to reach all vulnerable EU nationals and inform them of the fact that it is mandatory to apply in order to prove their status and remain in the country after the transition period.
The EU Londoners hub provides independent guidance to EU citizens and citizens from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland and their families who live in London.
The aim is to help them prepare for their Settled Status application. The hub also includes a list of support services, where you can also find the details of our charity.
The campaign has had a great impact, reaching over 800 EU nationals and informing them of their rights, but a lot more work is needed. We all have to join forces and signpost everyone to reliable sources of information.
