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One in three Spanish scientists in UK considering leaving due to Brexit
01/04/2017
BRITAIN is home to around 5,000 Spanish scientists, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) – but as many as a third of them are seriously considering leaving the UK as a result of the Brexit vote.
The Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom Society (CERU), which has over 600 members, says at least 30% of those interviewed are talking about moving away from Britain, whilst another 43% say they will wait to see what happens with the post-Article 50 negotiations before they decide whether or not to stay.
Only three in 10 of potential leavers say they would go back to Spain, with the others saying they would look for work in their field in a third country, since lack of government investment in science is what has forced many of them to move away from their native land in the first place.
Confusion, fear, nervousness and even feeling unsafe have been cited by CERU members and their Spanish and European colleagues, with many saying that the country which welcomed them 'with open arms' when they first became expatriates is now starting to make them feel like 'foreigners' again.
Regional daily newspaper from Spain's north-west, La Voz de Galicia, spoke to Spanish scientists in the UK who had originally come from its readership area.
“You feel insecure – until now, I had never felt like a foreigner in Britain, but now we're all starting to feel like 'immigrants',” said Marcos Martinón-Torres, head of Archaeological Science at University College London.
“In my case, I haven't felt specific rejection towards me personally, but I really do feel widespread rejection towards my community, that of European immigrants in Britain.
“But after 17 years here, I'm too settled; I'm not planning to leave. I've never bothered to seek UK residence, let alone citizenship, because there's never been any need; I'm not worried that they might deport me, but for the sake of my three daughters I'm going to seek residence and then nationaity as a precaution, to cover my back.”
Jacobo Elíes, physics researcher at Leeds University, is considering seeking residence, but says once the referendum results were known, 'the only thing I had in mind' was to 'leave the country'.
“The Brexit decision affects me personally rather than professionally, because there's so much confusion at the moment, and uncertainty about what this is all going to mean in the academic and scientific worlds,” Jacobo admits.
“But I won't go back to Spain; that possibility is totally ruled out, given the situation there at the moment. If I don't stay in the UK, I'll look into moving to Germany or Australia.”
Another biologist, who wanted to remain anonymous, told La Voz de Galicia that 'Spain cannot offer any medium-term guarantees' of work for scientists, 'especially in smaller towns', so he is considering seeking residence and, later, citizenship in the UK.
Researcher at Cambridge University Medical Campus in the Molecular Biology Laboratory, Rafael Fernández Leiro, says he has already decided to go home to Galicia.
“I decided before the Brexit referendum even took place: the atmosphere in the UK had become really weird towards foreigners,” he admitted.
“Although everything seems more or less normal at the moment, the uncertainty means nobody knows what's going to happen to the financing the science industry receives.”
Pharmaceutical expert and South West Area Manager for the CERU, Sara Alvira de Celis, said she was able to work in the UK thanks to a European grant and managed to obtain another from the British government, but believes she may have to return to her home province of Pontevedra.
“I'm experiencing the Brexit process personally, and very nervous about it, seeing my future here as being very uncertain; something that's inherent in the science industry per se, but which is aggravated by the unusual situation we're living in now,” Sara says.
“If things get too complicated, I'll probably go back to Spain – but not at any price. It's not my only option, and if Spain won't invest in science, then scientists are not going to invest in Spain.”
CERU chair María Jiménez-Sánchez says Spain badly needs to make greater efforts to attract scientific talent 'which is currently in the UK and could be looking to leave'.
“One in six academics in the UK is European, and a mass exodus of European researchers would be disastrous for British science,” Jiménez-Sánchez says.
Top surgeon at London's Saint Mark's Hospital, Dr Alberto Martínez-Isla, has lived in the UK for over 20 years and already has his residence permit.
“Next I'll apply for a British passport,” he says.
Related Topics
BRITAIN is home to around 5,000 Spanish scientists, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) – but as many as a third of them are seriously considering leaving the UK as a result of the Brexit vote.
The Spanish Scientists in the United Kingdom Society (CERU), which has over 600 members, says at least 30% of those interviewed are talking about moving away from Britain, whilst another 43% say they will wait to see what happens with the post-Article 50 negotiations before they decide whether or not to stay.
Only three in 10 of potential leavers say they would go back to Spain, with the others saying they would look for work in their field in a third country, since lack of government investment in science is what has forced many of them to move away from their native land in the first place.
Confusion, fear, nervousness and even feeling unsafe have been cited by CERU members and their Spanish and European colleagues, with many saying that the country which welcomed them 'with open arms' when they first became expatriates is now starting to make them feel like 'foreigners' again.
Regional daily newspaper from Spain's north-west, La Voz de Galicia, spoke to Spanish scientists in the UK who had originally come from its readership area.
“You feel insecure – until now, I had never felt like a foreigner in Britain, but now we're all starting to feel like 'immigrants',” said Marcos Martinón-Torres, head of Archaeological Science at University College London.
“In my case, I haven't felt specific rejection towards me personally, but I really do feel widespread rejection towards my community, that of European immigrants in Britain.
“But after 17 years here, I'm too settled; I'm not planning to leave. I've never bothered to seek UK residence, let alone citizenship, because there's never been any need; I'm not worried that they might deport me, but for the sake of my three daughters I'm going to seek residence and then nationaity as a precaution, to cover my back.”
Jacobo Elíes, physics researcher at Leeds University, is considering seeking residence, but says once the referendum results were known, 'the only thing I had in mind' was to 'leave the country'.
“The Brexit decision affects me personally rather than professionally, because there's so much confusion at the moment, and uncertainty about what this is all going to mean in the academic and scientific worlds,” Jacobo admits.
“But I won't go back to Spain; that possibility is totally ruled out, given the situation there at the moment. If I don't stay in the UK, I'll look into moving to Germany or Australia.”
Another biologist, who wanted to remain anonymous, told La Voz de Galicia that 'Spain cannot offer any medium-term guarantees' of work for scientists, 'especially in smaller towns', so he is considering seeking residence and, later, citizenship in the UK.
Researcher at Cambridge University Medical Campus in the Molecular Biology Laboratory, Rafael Fernández Leiro, says he has already decided to go home to Galicia.
“I decided before the Brexit referendum even took place: the atmosphere in the UK had become really weird towards foreigners,” he admitted.
“Although everything seems more or less normal at the moment, the uncertainty means nobody knows what's going to happen to the financing the science industry receives.”
Pharmaceutical expert and South West Area Manager for the CERU, Sara Alvira de Celis, said she was able to work in the UK thanks to a European grant and managed to obtain another from the British government, but believes she may have to return to her home province of Pontevedra.
“I'm experiencing the Brexit process personally, and very nervous about it, seeing my future here as being very uncertain; something that's inherent in the science industry per se, but which is aggravated by the unusual situation we're living in now,” Sara says.
“If things get too complicated, I'll probably go back to Spain – but not at any price. It's not my only option, and if Spain won't invest in science, then scientists are not going to invest in Spain.”
CERU chair María Jiménez-Sánchez says Spain badly needs to make greater efforts to attract scientific talent 'which is currently in the UK and could be looking to leave'.
“One in six academics in the UK is European, and a mass exodus of European researchers would be disastrous for British science,” Jiménez-Sánchez says.
Top surgeon at London's Saint Mark's Hospital, Dr Alberto Martínez-Isla, has lived in the UK for over 20 years and already has his residence permit.
“Next I'll apply for a British passport,” he says.
Related Topics
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