A thread where I discuss how the Netherlands authorities have responded and reacted to changing circumstances for British residents in my adopted home country regarding Brexit, a place that I now really can’t imagine readily leaving. (1/21)

First, a couple of caveats - this is my experience in the Netherlands, and I can only assume that of many other British residents here. I’m not close to sufficiently informed to be able to discuss the overall immigrant experience, and as such I wouldn’t want to attempt to. (2/21)

Naturally, the British immigrant experience elsewhere in the EU also differs. I’m perfectly aware that the EU 27 have differing schemes at their disposal, and that’s where the likes of @BritishInEurope are far better placed to provide detail. (3/21)

So, in August 2018 the Netherlands authorities - via various communications channels - encouraged British residents to apply to attend a panel discussion on “Are you prepared for Brexit?” I sent an email and received an invitation to the event. (4/21)

What this entailed was - if I remember nos correctly - around 60 people being provided with food and drinks (curry, they know us so well), whilst officials from government departments sought to understand what communications we needed whilst the Brexit process was ongoing. (5/21)

The groups themselves were deliberately selected to encompass the full breadth of the (British) immigrant experience and how they might be affected - from those who had settled many years ago and with recourse to Netherlands citizenship, to me, relatively newly arrived. (6/21)

At the end of the evening, and on the basis of our feedback, it was agreed that they would work on a better website; deliver webinars when procedures were better understood; run more information on social media, and provide other communications. (7/21)

A senior official at the close of the night - I honestly forget if a politician or IND official - said something deeply touching and meaningful. I'm paraphrasing, but that they wanted us to stay, that it’s our home, that we’re welcome here, and they value our contribution. (8/21)

It doesn’t necessarily follow that moving to another country automatically means being made to feel welcome. Having such a senior official make such a declaration and express those concerns was as powerful and significant as it was unexpected. (9/21)

A further invitation was extended to a smaller part of that group to participate in a photo/video shoot. We were questioned on Brexit, for use in those webinars, across social media campaigns, etc. Again, food and drink was provided - and, incredibly, a gift card. (10/21)

By the end of this process, and by the time the prospect of a “no deal” became more serious, we were sent letters advising that we apply for a temporary residence permit, which for a nominal fee we could later convert to permanent if necessary and applicable. (11/21)

The application process for the temporary residence permit itself was complex and incredibly arduous. It involved logging in to “Mijn Overheid”, the superb “My Government” portal, and checking a box. That was it. One single check box in the online portal. Zero forms. (12/21)

This was, of course, the act of a government unilaterally assuring a population of British residents that they would be entitled to remain in the Netherlands, even in the event of a “no deal” Brexit (subject to satisfying certain conditions). (13/21)

An aside: the security validation for logging in to the government portal is impressive, including a four digit token generated by the DigiID app, a QR code scan, and finally a five digit personal passcode on the phone - you can’t take screenshots of the app. (14/21)

From there you can check and update multiple government-held data points and services - pension information, employment details, file tax returns, and so on, and even, as I discovered today, update your organ donation preferences.

Back to Brexit. Now the withdrawal process has started, the government has been writing to people in batches - and naturally those letters can be received via the “Mijn Overheid” government portal - inviting them to apply for residency (temporary or permanent). (15/21)

They have, quite reasonably, been sending those letters inviting people to apply for permanent or temporary residency on the basis of longest to shortest term of residency. You can check on the website which year they’ve reached (currently 2015). (16/21)

So, what more is there that I can say? The government here, in response to events elsewhere, has been thoughtful, pragmatic, judicious, concerned, and intelligent in the way it has dealt with a problem (Brexit) not of its own making. (17/21)

I’ve been in the Netherlands for 2.5 years, and by extension, in Europe. My career here was predicated on freedom of movement, and it’s profoundly sad to me that something so extraordinarily liberating is now coming to an end, but at the very least, I have assurances. (18/21)

And perhaps you're wondering through this thread, why am I tweeting about Brexit when currently there’s for many a more pressing issue at hand - how, after all, does any of this have to do with dealing with COVID-19? (19/21)

Because at the time of a crisis arising which is not of its own making, based on how they've approached Brexit, I can have a degree of trust and confidence in the competence of a government whose politics I don’t necessarily share or identity with. (20/21)

And I'd hazard having a nation's trust and confidence in a government’s competence to navigate through this crisis isn’t just critical, it isn’t just based on their response to COVID-19, but it’s also determined by how their principal actors operated prior to it. (21/21)