Brief thread on a Tweet by a pro-Brexit academic who seems to think that migrating from a third country to EU countries means just completing few more forms. That's utter nonsense on many levels. /1

First, the fact that until now FoM in a meaningful sense (not just for holiday trips or short term study trips) has not been used is (also) due to the absence of push factors: The unemployment rate is rather low in UK compared to other developed countries in EU. /2

That keeps migration limited to families moving and middle class taking advantage of it to e.g. advancing their careers. Brexit + COVID may change circumstances so that the demand will rise but meets a harsher environment. /3

Or in short: Using FoM is not inherently a middle class thing but the circumstances of UK in the past made it a middle class thing. Circumstances will change. /4

Second, migrating or other countries is rarely just few forms. That's the best case scenario only. Usually, depending on where you want to migrate it is a comparatively complex process. /5

For one, the most migration is likely to occur to developed countries and their requirements are usually the harshest (quotas, qualified job offers etc). Second, if it is because you follow your love life you are usually screwed if you are young. /6

Simply because requirements will be hard to fulfil. You may now say that those requirements are necessary to avoid that the person takes advantage of the social net in that country. /7

That is also questionable: usually it's comparatively easy to find a job which disqualifies you from this kind of support but those jobs won't give you the visa you need. You are playing f*cked. /8

Same with people at the beginning of their careers who are not from a upper and middle class background. If you want to go abroad without having massive financial backup: good luck. It will soon enough turn out that the ones who need FoM won't have it while... /9

... people who don't need it due to the socio-economic capital of their upbringing really just have forms to fill the rest is scalable with enough financial firepower. /10

However, I somehow don't think that the younger folk currently complaining that FoM is taken away from them fall in the latter category. /11

Last but not least: People who never migrated, don't understand migration or related bureaucracy but have in their handle their academic title and are from a social science would do better not opinionating about it. 12/12