People have dismantled a Home Office video advising EU citizens they need to pay £65 to submit permanent residency forms after Brexit.
The short clip explains the process EU citizens who wish to stay in the UK will need to follow after the country leaves the European Union.
But Twitter users were quick to criticise the video for its upbeat and cheery tone, described by some as an attempt to mask the difficult situation many of those affected have found themselves in.
EU citizens who currently live in the country were quick to highlight their disapproval of the Home Office clip.
Therese Collins, a Swedish citizen who now lives in Sheffield, said: ”Thanks for allowing me to apply and pay to stay in my home for over 20 years. Perhaps you could have used some of the taxes you’ve happily taken off me during these years?”
Others were less, well, polite.
“You absolute s****! I’ve lived here 35 years, got a stamp in my passport for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ in 1985 and now you want me to apply to stay in my own home,” said Lene Kruhoffer a Danish citizen who now lives in Scotland.
Meanwhile, the Irish Border Twitter page, known for comical critiques of the government’s Brexit strategy, quickly tracked down the stock images the government used for the video.
They said: “Like me, you may have been wondering about the happy EU millennials in this video who smilingly welcome the Home Office’s benign new immigration regime. They really get around these EU nationals.”
They pointed out examples of how the images had been used form marketing in Australia and Canada.
Politicians also waded into the row. Labour’s David Lammy said: ”What a way to treat our neighbours, friends, family and partners from Europe. King Herod would be proud Theresa May.”
Lammy’s Labour colleague, the shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, also retweeted the video asking the Home Office thank all the EU staff who support the countries public services “rather than this menacing tone”.
SNP MP Peter Wishart claimed the video of the Brexit discourse. He said: “Immigration is the cold beating heart of the case for Brexit. There are leavers to pander to and people to unsettle. This is the future of Brexitised UK.”
The UK is due to leave the EU on the 29th of March 2019, but the future relationship with the bloc still in doubt as Theresa May still needs to get her unpopular withdrawal agreement through parliament.
