Skip to main content
Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

Mapping social science research on Brexit and migration

This fully searchable database lists peer-reviewed journal articles on Brexit and migration published in social science journals since May 2015. It will be updated periodically. For our initial review of this body of work see our 2022 article published in Migration Studies From state of the art to new directions in research what Brexit means for migration and migrants.

578 articles

Racialisation, the EU Referendum result and sentiments of belonging in the UK: a consideration of Roma populations
This article reports on a qualitative study with migrant Roma communities in South Yorkshire, UK. The study was undertaken shortly after the 2016 European Union membership referendum in the UK.
"There's just too many": The construction of immigration as a social problem
This article presents findings collected in 2016-2017 from a multi-method ethnographic study of Shirebrook, Derbyshire in the English East Midlands, examining the narratives used by the local authority (LA) and local residents that construct immigration as a social problem. In doing so…
Central and Eastern European migrants’ experiences of mental health services in the UK: A qualitative study post-Brexit
Objective: Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrants are a large minority group in the UK who are vulnerable to experiencing mental health problems. However, due to their shared ‘whiteness’ with the majority population, health service disparities may be overlooked.
Brexit, Terrorist Attacks, and Hate Crime: A Longitudinal Analysis
Drawing on theories of intergroup conflict and research on political legitimization of prejudice and crime motivated by bias, this study examines the temporal clustering of hate crimes in the aftermath of triggering events in the UK. In addition to domestic and nondomestic terrorist attacks…
Bordering Asylum in Post-Brexit Britain
This article considers UK government's proposal to re-introduce an accelerated appeals system for detained asylum seekers through resort to legislation. Previously, a similar system, the `Detained Fast Track, was ruled unlawful largely on the basis that it lacked procedural fairness…
Echoes of Empire: racism and historical amnesia in the British media coverage of migration
This paper looks at how the British media addressed the issue of migration in Europe between 2015 and 2018, four years when the topic was high on news and political agendas…
The perceptions of general practice among Central and Eastern Europeans in the United Kingdom: A systematic scoping review
Background Around 2 million people have migrated from Central and Eastern Europe to the UK since 2004. The UK Central and Eastern European Community (UK-CEE) are disproportionately exposed to the social determinants of poor physical and mental health.
Immigration and the UK economy after Brexit
I review trends in migration to the UK since the Brexit referendum, examining first the sharp fall in net migration from the EU that resulted, and then the recent more dramatic exodus of foreign-born residents during the covid-19 pandemic. I describe the new post-Brexit system…
'The Vile Eastern European': Ideology of Deportability in the Brexit Media Discourse
Pre-Brexit media discourse in the UK focused extensively on the end of free movement, the governance of European mobility, and its relationship with state sovereignty. This article, methodologically anchored in Critical Discourse Analysis, discusses how the potential post-Brexit deportee…
MAIN TRENDS IN MIGRATION OF ROMANIAN PHARMACISTS BETWEEN 2015 AND 2022
Romanian pharmacists tend to relocate to more developed countries, as also happens in other European states. In this study, we have addressed a relevant issue for the national health system in landscaping the migration phenomenon of professional pharmacists.
The Anxiety of Political Uncertainty: Insights from the Brexit Vote
Anxiety is driven by cognitive uncertainty, and large political events can change levels of uncertainty in a nation's population, including among individuals in migrant groups.
Intra-company transfers: The government/corporate interface in the United Kingdom
This paper explores the role of intra-company transfers in the United Kingdom government's labour immigration policy over the last quarter century. It demonstrates their role in determining the number of non-European Economic Area foreigners working in the country and examines the way policy…
The entanglement of employers and political elites in migration policymaking: The case of Brexit and the revival of UK horticulture’s guestworker scheme
Background: Following Brexit, and the ending of freedom of movement, labour supply crises have emerged in the UK. The paper focuses on the horticultural sector, where these crises have been particularly pronounced, with fears of crops being left to rot in the fields now commonplace.
Did Brexit Change EU Law?
This paper investigates whether the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union changed EU law. Brexit necessarily animated the law related to and produced by Article 50 TEU.
Performing whiteness: Central and Eastern European young people's experiences of xenophobia and racialisation in the UK post-Brexit
The state-induced anti-immigration environment and the normalisation of xenophobia in political and media discourses have led to the increased othering of European migrants in the UK through new forms of social stratification, especially since the Brexit Referendum of 2016.
Marginalized (non)citizens: migrant youth political engagement, volunteering and performative citizenship in the context of Brexit
Migrants' opportunities for civic and political participation are often restricted by their legal rights. This paper reports on a study which included a survey with 1,120 young people aged 12-18 originally from Central and Eastern Europe, living in the UK…
You (Br)exit, I stay: The effect of the Brexit vote on internal migration
The profound divisions that emerged around the UK's decision to leave the European Union have stimulated a heated debate on whether the referendum, by exposing intolerance and exacerbating societal tensions, has affected individuals' choices. The UK is one of the most mobile societies in Europe…
Migrant NHS nurses as 'tolerated' citizens in post-Brexit Britain
With this article we present European Union (EU) and non-EU nurses' lived experiences of feeling 'unwelcomed' and 'unsettled' in a heightened xenophobic environment, in the workplace and elsewhere, following the 2016 EU Referendum.
Shortages, high-demand occupations, and the post-Brexit UK immigration system
One of the key questions facing immigration policy-makers is which jobs should be eligible for work visas. This question has dominated discussions about the post-Brexit immigration system, which has focused in particular on the issue of shortages.
Politicisation of migration issues during the refugee crisis in the UK and Denmark
This article addresses the patterns of politicisation of migration and its implications for European integration, investigating the refugee crisis that coincided with the EU referendums in the UK and Denmark. In this framework, we distinguish three patterns of politicisation -domestic…
Ascriptions of migration: Racism, migratism and Brexit
This article offers an analysis of scholarly attempts to make sense of the nexus of race and migration in Brexit-era UK discourse. To illustrate my arguments that intend to challenge and extend existing scholarship, I discuss exemplary snapshots from news articles…
"I returned to being an immigrant": onward Latin American migrants and Brexit
We explore the experiences of Onward Latin American Migrants (OLAs) in London - individuals born in Latin America who live in London and hold EU passports - with the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), a programme developed by the British Government to register EU nationals as part of the Brexit process.
Leavers and Remainers as ‘Kinds of People’: Accusations of Racism Amidst Brexit
After the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, leavers and remainers have become identified in media, political, intellectual, social scientific and everyday discourses with a contested set of racialised and classed characteristics.
The Impact of Brexit on the UK Agri-Food Chain-A Case of the Empty Supermarket Shelf Syndrome?
Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020. The UK is the only member state to have left the EU, after 47 years of having been a part of the union —the EU and its predecessor the European Communities (EC)…
A post-national EU diaspora? Political mobilization of EU citizens in the UK post-Brexit
This article analyses the political engagement and mobilization of the EU citizens post-Brexit and investigates the extent to which these have led to the creation of an EU diaspora in the UK.
Employment and social rights of labour migrants post-Brexit
This chapter specifically pursues the question of which employment and social security rights could be invoked by workers migrating between the UK and the remaining EU Member States. It looks at the various legal instruments that could play a role in this, including the Withdrawal Agreement…
Increased Risks of Labor Exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of the Agri-food and Construction Sectors
On leaving the EU, changes to the UK’s immigration system meant that low-skilled workers from overseas were largely prohibited from entering the UK. Since industries such as agri-food and construction have been dependent on low-skilled migrant labor…
UK's withdrawal from Justice and Home Affairs: a historical institutionalist analysis of policy trajectories
Contrary to the idea that 'Brexit means Brexit', the article demonstrates that, in spite of leaving the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, the UK is not automatically seeking to distance itself from the EU's activities and approaches to these policy fields. Using the concepts of disengagement…
Brexit, Migration and European Integration Process
Migration issue which has been framed as a threat to national sovereignty within the discourse of "getting back the controls of the borders" and which has also been instrumentalized for political purposes by triggering concerns among the public…
A Gendered EU Settlement Scheme: Intersectional Oppression of Immigrant Women in a Post-Brexit Britain *
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is a transitory immigration regime rolled out by the Home Office as part of the measures for the UK withdrawing from the EU. More can be said about whether the EUSS can truly be hailed an overall “success”, as per official Government messaging…
Studying the Emotional Costs of Integration at Times of Change: The Case of EU Migrants in Brexit Britain
Events such as Brexit have drawn attention to the precarity of contemporary migrants' settlement rights and reopened the debate on the nature of integration and assimilation processes. Drawing on participant observation and interviews with Italian and Bulgarian migrants in Brexit Britain…
What to do with ‘white working-class’ underachievement? Framing ‘white working-class’ underachievement in post-Brexit Referendum England
Scrutinising disproportionate media and political attention provided to the ills of the ‘white working-class’, this article examines the framing of their apparent underachievement in education policy and discourse in early post-Brexit vote England.
Uncertainty and Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Brexit
Immigrant entrepreneurs are a major driver of economic growth, and their decisions about where to locate can greatly affect the entrepreneurial ecosystem of a country. Meanwhile…
Retailer and grower relationships and the supply chain pressures in English horticulture: The lived experience
This research paper examines the pressurised relationship between growers and retailers in the English horticultural supply chain and the associated impact on labour. Although there is some literature detailing the supply chain there is little current published data…
When (EU) migration came to Great Yarmouth
This article examines the impact of EU migration on Great Yarmouth, a coastal town in Norfolk, England. Great Yarmouth had the fifth highest 'leave' vote nationally in the UK Brexit referendum, at over 70%. In this article…
Living in a hostile country: the 'Migrant' and 'Unbelonging' in contemporary Brexit literature
This article will assess the situation of migrant 'others' in Britain post-Brexit. It will develop my established research interests in the situation of EU citizens in the UK in a new direction by looking at the impact Brexit has had on non-EU citizens living in the UK.