Our research prior to 2020
Employers poll reveals: EU citizens at risk, business not ready for changes to UK immigration law (2020)
The Government’s long-term ambition is to go digital in public administration, including immigration control. For employers and workers, this includes replacing physical document right-to-work checks with digital, online verification. At the same time, employers will have to familiarise themselves with a new immigration regime they have had no experience of - the points-based system.
the3million commissioned an online poll of professionals with authority over hiring decisions.
Read our analysis of the employers' poll
Rights and representation
Exploring young Europeans’ views on settlement, citizenship and political participation (2020)
This community research funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA) Citizens’ Led Engagement Programme explored the experiences of 16-30-year-old European Londoners applying to the EU Settlement Scheme and their views on citizenship and political participation.
The project, led by Alexandra Bulat, involved 13 young European peer researchers who did work placements with the3million and conducted focus groups with 11 nationalities in the summer of 2019.
The research findings were launched on 20 May 2020 through an online webinar. The report (the summary is also available as a briefing paper) was discussed by two panels, involving a variety of speakers from the youth and migration sector (My Life My Say, British Future, Polish Migrants Organise for Change (POMOC), We Belong, Migration Observatory), the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the3million Young Europeans peer researchers Ioana Cenolli and Veronica Hera and Young Europeans filmmaker Ioana Diac.
Experiences and impact of the EU Settlement Scheme (2019)
This survey-based research was conducted by Prof Tanja Bueltmann at Northumbria University, in collaboration with the3million. The Settled Status survey involved over 3,000 participants.
It is the most detailed research on experiences of applying to the EU Settlement Scheme to date. It documented the experiences of Europeans who had a less straightforward time securing their status and showed how even those who found it relatively easy to apply tend to feel unsettled with their settled status.
Research on ringfencing citizens’ rights in the Brexit negotiations (2019)
One of the3million’s key asks in the Brexit negotiations, alongside British in Europe, was to ringfence citizens’ rights. Prof Stijn Smismans from Cardiff University has been involved in the3million, particularly researching the prospects of ringfencing EU citizens’ rights in the UK-EU negotiations.
Prof Smismans’ proposals for ringfencing citizens’ rights have been published as research papers. These proposals were the foundations of the Costa Amendment, a success for the3million’s UK parliamentary lobbying activities in 2019.
EU families & Eurochildren in Brexiting Britain (2018)
The Eurochildren research project, led by the University of Birmingham, examined the experiences of EU children and their families after the 2016 referendum, looking at family decisions to settle in the UK or move to another country. The project mapped the population of UK and EU-born children of EU nationals and assessed the impact of the EU referendum on their sense of belonging. the3million was one of the partner organisations in this project and assisted with participant recruitment and research dissemination.
Submission to the MAC Enquiry into EEA Migration (2017)
In July 2017, the UK government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to investigate what migration could look like. the3million were asked to submit their findings on the issue of freedom of movement.
Despite being given little time to perform this task, the3million was able to produce a report which was shared with the MAC which received the information with great interest. The final MAC report was published in September 2018.
How do European citizens experience the process of applying for the permanent residence certificate (2017)
Long before the EU Settlement Scheme was launched in 2019, the3million collaborated with the University of the West of England to research the experiences of EU citizens who applied for the EEA Permanent Residence card.
The qualitative research, led by Anne-Laure Donskoy on behalf of the3million, analysed how EU citizens felt about applying for permanent residency. It identified and detailed on the barriers EU citizens faced, particularly the requirement for Comprehensive Sickness Insurance, which led to many rejections.
Requirements for a Permanent Residence card for EEA nationals in EU member states (2017)
The Commons Select Committee on Exiting the EU requested the3million to provide comparison data on applying for Permanent Residence across the EU member states. The information was compiled by Kuba Jablonowski and Anne-Laure Donskoy, to provide an overview and quick comparison tool of requirements.
