Summary information
Study title
Rebordering Britain and Britons after Brexit: Survey, Panels and Interviews with British, EU and Non-EU Migrants, 2021-2023
Creator
Sigona, N, University of Birmingham
Benson, M, Lancaster University
Zambelli, E, Lancaster University
Craven, C, University of Birmingham
Au-Yeung, T, Cardiff University
Kogut, N, University of Birmingham
Lytvyniuk, A, Unknown affiliation
Study number / PID
857643 (UKDA)
10.5255/UKDA-SN-857643 (DOI)
Data access
Restricted
Series
Not available
Abstract
Migration to and from the UK after Brexit was a thirty-nine months project (Jan 2021 – March 2024) funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through their Governance After Brexit Scheme [‘Rebordering Britain and Britons after Brexit’ (MIGZEN), Grant Number: ES/V004530/1] and led by researchers at the University of Birmingham (Lead Research Organisation) and Lancaster University. Brexit brought public and political attention to longstanding concerns within migration and citizenship scholarship, throwing questions of citizenship, migration and belonging into sharp relief; it also affected people's sense of belonging, mobility and settlement plans, as Britons in the EU and EU citizens and non-EU Third Country Nationals (TCN) in the UK found the status and the terms of their residence challenged, their claims to belonging, and access to rights questioned, their settlement plans in jeopardy.
With the end of the Brexit transition period came significant changes in the composition of migration flows to and from the UK, which were further compounded by the geopolitical effects and implications of the tense relationship between China and Hong Kong, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A collaborative, mixed-method research project involving academics, policy makers, civil society and migrant-led organisations, the project therefore explored the long-term impacts of Brexit and Britain’s shifting position on the world stage on migration to and from the UK, and on migrants’ experiences of these. Through this research, we sought to inform migration policy and debate by providing evidence of the everyday challenges brought by Brexit on individuals and their families living within and across the UK borders.
The project consisted of three phases as follows:
- Phase 1: Survey (‘Migration and Citizenship after Brexit’): conducted in the UK and the EU between 13 December 2021 and 16 January 2022.
- Phase 2: People’s Panel: conducted in the UK and the EU...
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Keywords
Methodology
Data collection period
13/12/2021 - 02/08/2023
Country
United Kingdom, European Union Countries (1993-)
Time dimension
Not availableAnalysis unit
Individual
Universe
Not availableSampling procedure
Not availableKind of data
Numeric
Text
Data collection mode
Data collection took place in the UK and the EU (all countries) between 13 December 2021 and 2 August 2023. Phase 1: The survey contained 96 questions organised into six modules, exploring: current residency and migration/legal status; citizenship and migration trajectories; relationships; identities and belongings; social, political and community participation; and socio-demographic information. It targeted (a) British citizens or nationals who were currently living/have lived in an EU/EEA member state (excluding UK); (b) Foreign-born and citizens of an EU/EEA member state who were currently living/have lived in the UK, and (c) Foreign-born and non-EU/EEA persons who were currently living / have lived in the UK. The survey was conducted online and administered via Qualtrics; participation was by self-selection. Phase 2: A set of six tasks was administered to the panel via the online survey platform Qualtrics on a monthly basis to a panel including participants from three target populations who had arrived/settled in their current country of residence pre-Brexit: British citizens living in the EU/EEA; EU-27/EEA citizens who have been living in the UK, and citizens of countries outside of the EU27/EEA/Britain who have been living in the UK. Each task was designed to take approx. 5-10 minutes to complete and included a combination of open and closed questions framed to elicit reactions, assessments, associations, or feelings of those participating regarding how and in what ways Brexit, Covid-19, and other major events occurring over the period covered by the research continued to impact on their lives. Phase 3: Interviews were conducted with different groups of people who had left, returned, or migrated to the UK after Brexit. Interviews explored their migration and settlement experiences and relationships to place of origin and the UK and were adjusted to account for different migration motives and trajectories. Interviews followed a semi-structured format; they lasted an hour on average and were audio-recorded with the participants’ permission; they were mostly conducted online via Microsoft Teams. They were subsequently transcribed, and personal and identifying information was removed.
Funding information
Grant number
ES/V004530/1
Access
Publisher
UK Data Service
Publication year
2025
Terms of data access
The UK Data Archive has granted a dissemination embargo. The embargo will end on 13 January 2026 and the data will then be available in accordance with the access level selected.
Related publications
Not available