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Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit
30 January 2024
The UK’s new humanitarian protections: A beneficiaries’ perspective
How do Ukrainian and Hongkongers experience living in the UK under the 'humanitarian visas' they are the beneficiaries of?
Global BritainUkrainiansHongkongershumanitarian visas
17 January 2024
Knock, knock, knocking on Fortress Britain’s doors
What's Brexit got to do with irregular Channel crossings, the Rwanda Plan and the UK's humanitarian visas for Hong Kongers and Ukrainians?
asylumborder controlBrexitirregular crossingsRwanda Plan
16 November 2023
Beyond the imagined national family: When borders cross families
The definition of who is family to whom is central in a nation’s imagination of itself. It is similarly central to states’ management of their national borders the definition of whose family members can live with whom and where. But what happens when families cross borders and when borders cross families? Plus, what has Brexit got to do with EU families?
mixed-status familiesBrexitFreedom of movement
15 November 2023
What happened to migration to and from the UK after Brexit in only 140 seconds
What happened to migration to and from the UK after Brexit? Watch the MIGZEN video to find out
BrexitMigrationGlobal Britainresearch
13 October 2023
Border digitalisation and dispersal: Of glitches, biases and struggles
Borders around the world are becoming increasingly digitalised. But what do digital bordering practices mean for migrants, migrant rights and advocacy?
BordersBorderingborder digitisationEU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
20 September 2023
Join us for the International Symposium 'Migration, coloniality and belonging in ‘Global Britain’
Want to think critically at how Britain reimagined itself and its political community, politics and hierarchies of belonging after Brexit? Join us in Birmingham on Friday 17 November 2023 for the day-long International Symposium 'Migration, coloniality and belonging in "Global Britain"'!
BrexitReborderingBritishnessBritish citizensbelongingEU citizenscolonialismcitizenshipmigration policy
19 September 2023
New article published in Sociology: Brexit Rebordering, Sticky Relationships, and the Production of Mixed-Status Families
Brexitmixed-status familiesfamily migrationFreedom of movementEU citizenship
15 September 2023
Why does diplomacy matter in thinking about migration after Brexit?
Understandings of migration policy are often framed through the eyes of receiving states and their domestic politics. But what role do foreign policy and geopolitics play? Plus: what does Britain’s approach to irregular migration tell us about its current diplomatic weight and levers? Find out more in the latest episode of our podcast collaboration with Who do we think we are?
BordersBrexitmigration diplomacyimmigration controlRwanda PlanUkrainiansHongkongersInternational Relations
13 September 2023
The normalization of state violence against migrants and refugees: comment piece in El Pais
State violence against migrants and refugees has become normalised in Europe, Nando Sigona writes in a comment piece for Spanish newspaper El Pais
asylumBordershostile environmentEuropeborder controlstate violence
11 August 2023
What's new about the UK's post-Brexit migration plan?
The UK Government claim that their post-Brexit migration regime is 'fair and generous'. But maybe the question we should be asking is whether it is just? That's what we've got in store in the latest episode of Who do we think we are? as we discuss a new plan for migration
immigration governanceasylumBrexitRwanda PlanIllegal Immigration Act
19 July 2023
Is it time for the UK to pay more attention to emigration?
Writing for UK in a Changing Europe Michaela Benson examines the number of people leaving the UK for the purposes of long-term migration. She highlights the absence of emigration from the political and policy debate and asks whether in the context of labour shortages in certain sectors it might be time for this to change.
emigrationmigration trends
7 July 2023
Bye, Bye Britain: leaving Britain past and present
What does emigration matter for understanding Britain's migration story? And what do colonialism and Brexit have to do with it? Find out in this episode of the podcast Who do we think we are? Presents 'Global Britain'
BritainBrexitemigrationcolonialism
2 June 2023
Free Movement, limited: Getting to the heart of what it means to be European
It's Episode 2 of our podcast collaboration with Who do we think we are? launches. We’re talking Freedom of Movement, its role in making Europeans and a European community, and the experiences of people who have lost their FOM rights due to Brexit.
Freedom of movementBrexitEU citizenshipbelongingpodcastErasmusEU law
5 May 2023
From the pomp and circumstance of the coronation to the fanfare of Eurovision
Announcing the release of the first episode of the podcast 'Who do we think we are? presents "Global Britain"'. We’re talking Eurovision, the Coronation and the Commonwealth Games as we consider how EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU make sense of ‘Global Britain’ and its imagined communities.
BrexitCoronationEurovisionEU citizensGlobal Britainpodcast
2 May 2023
A new podcast from the MIGZEN research team: Who do we think we are? presents 'Global Britain'
British citizens living abroad together with EU citizens and others who have made the UK their home before Brexit are poised to tell their stories as part of a Lancaster University project.
Brits in EUEU citizensGlobal BritainCoronationEurovision
17 April 2023
Subject to Change: What do EU citizens in the UK, and British diasporas, think about king and country?
BritishnessBritish citizensEU citizensnationalismReborderingmonarchy
31 March 2023
Why some migrants are deemed more deserving than others in Global Britain
Foreign policy determines why migrants from Hong Kong got a better deal than Syrians or Ukrainians.
Global BritainasylumgeopoliticsUK immigration policy
14 March 2023
“In London, I Am a European Citizen”: Brexit, Emotions, and the Politics of Belonging - hot off the press & open access
London hosts by far the largest population of non-national EU citizens in Europe. It is also home to roughly one-third of the entire EU citizen population living in the UK. Does place matter to how EU citizens experienced Brexit?
LondonEU citizensBrexitsuperdiversityEU families
12 January 2023
Who is breaking the UK asylum system?
Rishi Sunak's five point plan on immigration is a mix of not-so-new ideas, wishful thinking and legally dubious interventions, writes Nando Sigona in this piece for Transforming Society
asylumUK Border Forceimmigration policyirregular crossings
15 November 2022
The UK's Refugee 'Invasion' is a Brexit-made Policy Failure
According to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s recent statement in the House of Commons, the UK is facing ‘an invasion’. But, Nando Sigona and Michaela Benson write in this piece for The Political Quarterly, Braverman’s invading army is not made of soldiers but a few thousand people who have reached the British shores irregularly, crossing the Channel by small boat in the absence of alternative safe and legal routes.
irregular crossingshostile environmentinvasionSuella Bravermansafe routesasylum
13 October 2022
"We still love EU": Feelings of attachment to the European Union are still running high among EU nationals in the UK and British nationals in the EU
New MIGZEN Research Brief reveals enduring attachment to the EU among British nationals living in the EU and EU nationals in the UK six years after the Brexit referendum
political engagementpolitical participationEU citizensBrits in EU
5 August 2022
First issue of the MIGZEN newsletter launched
We have launched our first newsletter in which you can learn more about the MIGZEN project, find out what we have been up to over the last year, and subscribe for upcoming editions.
26 July 2022
The real life consequences of Brexit for mixed British-European families
Announcing our new report on the findings of our research into the impacts of Brexit on British-European families after Brexit. This MIGZEN Research Brief based on the responses to the MIGZEN survey ‘Migration and Citizenship after Brexit’.
Brexitmixed-status familiesfamily migrationMigrationFreedom of movement
15 July 2022
Chagos Islands and the Struggle for Global Britain
This blog addresses the ongoing detention of Tamil refugees by British military in the Chagos Islands, and unpacks the historic and contemporary role of the Indian Ocean archipelago for British diplomatic and state-building interests.
refugeesGlobal BritainDetentionTamilsChagos
25 June 2022
Brexit and the bureaucracy of citizenship: New episode of Conversations with Iris
Nando Sigona speaks with Djordje Sredanovic, author of Implementing Citizenship, Nationality and Integration (Bristol University Press, 2022)
BrexitcitizenshipMigrationUKBelgium
23 June 2022
"It is still an open wound": EU citizens in the UK six years after the Brexit referendum
MIGZEN survey reveals the enduring scars that leaving the EU has left on its citizens living in the UK.
BrexitEU citizenshiphostile environmentEU referendum
6 June 2022
Who do we think we are? Podcast - Series 2 launches with a bumper episode all about the Nationality and Borders Act
What is the UK’s Nationality and Borders Act? How does it relate to previous acts concerned with nationality and immigration legislation? What is the back story to some of the central changes that this act introduces? We cover all of this and more in this bumper episode to mark the start of Series 2 of Who do we think we are?
podcastMigrationcitizenshipnationalityandbordersbill
1 June 2022
Are you a migrant who has been living in the UK since before the 2016 EU referendum?
Are you an EU/EEA citizen, or a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA/UK, who has been living in the UK since before the Brexit referendum? If so, would you like to become part of our online People's Panel? Get in touch to find out how to take part!
BrexitMigrationsocial researchResearch methodsEU citizensPeople's Panel
30 May 2022
Are you a British citizen who previously lived in the EU or EEA?
Call for participants - Are you a British returnee? Have you previously lived in the EU or EEA? If so, would you take part in an interview with a member of the MIGZEN team? Get in touch of more information on how to take part.
Brexitinterviewreturn
13 May 2022
NEW EPISODE Who do we think we are? Beyond the headlines with ... Yvonne Su
Latest episode from Who do we think we are? Take a listen to the Beyond the Headlines, where hosts Michaela Benson and Ala Sirriyeh take a deep dive into the headlines about how countries are responding to Ukrainian refugees with Dr Yvonne Su, York University.
BordersUkraine Crisispodcastrefugees
9 May 2022
How Brexit transformed mobile families into migrant families
A reflection on the effects of Brexit on mixed-status families in the EU/EEA and the UK.
Brexitmixed-status familiesbelongingBrits in EUEU citizens
4 May 2022
New Report: British citizens in the EU after Brexit
British citizens living in the EU after Brexit is the first research brief from the MIGZEN research project. It reports on the findings from our recent 'Migration and Citizenship after Brexit' survey, offering insights how these Britons explain their migration trajectories; their residential and nationality status in their country of residence; the impacts of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic on their future migration plans; family life; political participation in the UK and within the EU; and understandings of citizenship, identity and belonging.
BrexitBrits in EUcitizens rights
1 May 2022
What migration scholarship says on the Brexit and migration nexus: new article in Migration Studies
New article by MIGZEN team reviews scholarship on Brexit and migration in main academic journals in migration studies and reveals spotlights and blind spots in current research.
MigrationBrexitsocial researchmigration studies
29 April 2022
EU citizenship and transnational political mobilisation after Brexit
Following the Brexit referendum, a number of organisations were set up to support the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU. Catherine Craven, Michaela Benson and Nando Sigona reflect on the work of these organisations and ask what their legacy will be.
EU citizensBrits in EUtransnationalismpolitical mobilisationThe3Million
26 April 2022
'Racialized Affectivities of (Un)Belonging: Mixed (Race) Couples in the Shadow of Brexit' wins the #Genealogy 2020 Best Paper Award
Elena Zambelli won the "#Genealogy 2020 Best Paper Award" for her article “Racialized Affectivities of (Un)Belonging: Mixed (Race) Couples in the Shadow of #Brexit ”. The article is available open access at https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/4/3/83
BrexitEU citizensbelongingtransnationalismmixed-status families
9 March 2022
UK government's response to refugee crisis is too little, too confused, too slow
Reflects on the response of the UK Government to the Ukraine Refugee Crisis to argue that despite claims to generosity, the official response has been underwhelming and out of step with the rest of Europe.
BordersGlobal BritainUkraine Crisis
28 February 2022
Who do we think we are? Episode 9
citizenshipnationalityandbordersbillpodcast
24 February 2022
Transnational politics and 'The Ethics of Exile': Catherine Craven in conversation with Ashwini Vasanthakumar
Catherine Craven speaks to Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Associate Professor, Queen’s University, Canada), about her recently published book The Ethics of Exile: A Political Theory of Diaspora, which explores the normative and political agency of exiles.
exiletransnationalism
4 February 2022
Who do we think we are ep 8
Did you know that British citizenship can be cancelled or removed? And that these powers have been disproportionately used against Britain's Muslim citizens? Listen to Episode 8 of Who do we think we are? to find out more.
Borderscitizenshipnationalityandbordersbill
26 January 2022
Interracial couples and the phenomenology of race
This blog offers an intersectional analysis of interracial couples’ perceptions of dis/comfort and un/safety in England across different contexts – when partners move in public spaces, choose where to make home, and where to travel for leisure.
belongingBrexit
22 December 2021
Call for participants to the MIGZEN survey
Are you an immigrant, foreign student, asylum seeker, refugee, expat, dual citizen (possibly one or more of the above) in the UK? Are you a British citizen who is living or has lived in a EU member state? We want to hear from you!
Migrationcitizenshipsurveysocial research
9 December 2021
Don’t Pass Go: Brexit, Covid-19 and the Rising Numbers of Romanians Stopped at the UK’s Borders
Since the start of 2021 an increasing number of EU citizens have been stopped trying to enter the UK. While Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic contribute to this, the rising number of Romanians being stopped at the border requires further explanation. In this blogpost, Michaela Benson looks at the statistics in more detail.
statisticsBrexitBordersEU citizens
4 December 2021
Debunking key myths about Britain's 'broken asylum system'
Since the tragedy in the English Channel, the government narrative on irregular crossings has shifted from the bombastic “stop migrants to defend our border” to the more humanitarian-inflected “stop migrants (in France) to protect them from drowning”, Nando Sigona and Michaela Benson explain in this article published in The Conversation
asylumBordersBrexitirregular crossings
6 November 2021
British citizens living in the EU and the Brexit withdrawal agreement
Michaela Benson reflects on the latest statistics relating to the implementation of citizens' rights provisions for British citizens living in the EU. She highlights what these statistics do and don't tell us, and how whatever the headlines, we need to remain aware of who might be falling between the gaps of these post-Brexit provisions.
BrexitstatisticsBrits in EU
5 November 2021
On labelling, rights and mobility: Interview with Nando Sigona
The boundaries of membership are far from fixed and Brexit is a case in point, Nando Sigona explains.
BrexitReborderingMigrationcitizenshipbelonginginterview
26 October 2021
Hong Kongers at the borders of 'Global Britain'
Michaela Benson reflects on Britain's relationship to the people of Hong Kong past and present. She highlights how the Hong Kong BN(O) visa, which seems an exceptional act in the broader context of the Hostile environment, sits in a longer history by which the Hong Kongers have been considered as an exception in Britain's nationality and immigration legislation.
BordersReborderingimmigration control
15 October 2021
Reflections on Doing Sociology Live in Lively Times
Michaela Benson presents some of challenges of conducting a live sociology project on Brexit, where engaging with a range of publics was an integral feature of the research design. It also offers some insights into working against the backdrop of an accelerated impact agenda, under conditions where public engagement and (non-academic) stakeholder engagement were expected even as the research was unfolding.
Brexitparliamentpolicy engagementBrits in EUResearch methods
1 July 2021
Tech at the border: Nando Sigona in conversation with Millie Graham Wood (Privacy International)
When travelling across the world, people are being subjected to multiple forms of tracking and profiling by unaccountable state agencies, what risks are there for migrants in the growing us of technologies for migration governance and enforcement?
BordersEU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)technologiesimmigration control
30 June 2021
The deadline for British citizens living in the EU is looming
British citizens living in France, Latvia and Malta face a 30 June deadline to apply for their new post-Brexit residence status. Michaela Benson reflects on figures released 29 June that reveal that there are thousands of people still to apply or lose their rights.
citizens rightsBrexitstatisticsBrits in EU
11 June 2021
Asylum under threat: Conversation on the New Plan for Immigration
Launched in March 2021, the UK government's New Plan for Immigration is quickly moving towards parliament, after a short and contested period of consultation, 'worth no more than the paper on which it was printed', according to Zoe Gardner, policy advisor with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
Migrationasylumhostile environment
2 June 2021
British citizens in the EU: the other side of the citizens' rights coin
Michaela Benson reflects on the 10000s of British citizens yet to register their residence in France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta as the 30 June deadline to secure their status under the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement approaches.
Brexitcitizens rightsstatisticsBrits in EU
28 May 2021
Which EU citizens are being turned away at the UK's borders?
Which EU citizens are being turned away at the UK's borders? Professor Michaela Benson reflects on the latest statistics and what they tell us about the inequalities within the EU citizen population arriving at Britain's borders.
citizens rightsBrexitReborderingEU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)statistics
25 May 2021
MIGZEN co-lead gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Affairs Committee
Michaela Benson gives evidence to the House of Lords EU Affairs Committee about British citizens in Europe and the implementation of citizens' rights provisions.
Brexitcitizens rightsparliamentpolicy engagement
13 April 2021
Borders and bordering in the age of (im)mobility – Talk for "A critical turn of migration studies?" series
"We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us", Nando Sigona looks at how borders produce citizens and (im/e)migrants alike.
BordersMigrationBorderingMobilityBrexit
2 February 2021
Brexit on 'Plague Island': fortifying the UK's borders in times of crisis
The coincidence of COVID and Brexit has produced a perfect storm. Public health concerns and containment measures have become entangled with the emerging post-Brexit geopolitics, weaponised to score political points. How can we make sense of this as researchers interested in borders, citizenship and migration?
BrexitBordersRebordering