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Jack works at a plastics factory. He arrived in the UK 16 years ago intending to learn some English for one or two years, but has ended up staying and working in a variety of jobs in hotels, bars and factories. He left a large house in Poland in one of the best tourist areas on the Black Sea. He tells me that his current work in the factory doesn't…

Mê-Linh Riemann is a first year PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Under the supervision of Dr Anna Bagnoli, she is currently conducting a qualitative study on the (biographical) experiences of Spanish labour migrants living in the United Kingdom and Germany – as well as of those who have returned to Spain.…

Jadzia and Rafal own a dental practice in the East of England. They moved to the UK from Poland with their children in 2005 after being interviewed successfully in Poland for jobs in a big UK dental company. They owned their own successful dental practice in Poland and moved for a challenge, and so that their children could improve their English: ‘…

Trevor owns a mid sized farm in Lincolnshire. He welcomed us for the day to talk with him and some of his staff about what motivates EU nationals to come to the UK and their experiences when they are here. 'They want to work with us because we're working with them', Trevor tells me. Almost all of his workforce is Polish and Trevor tells me that mos…

‘People often ask me whether I’m going home for Christmas. I say I’m already home here in the UK', says Raj.Raj has lived in the UK now for 9 years. He graduated in Poland, and first came to the UK for an Erasmus exchange year as part of his studies. When his wife was offered a doctoral research position in the UK they moved here together.Raj tells…

When Jo got in touch with us we assumed she was volunteering to speak up because she is an EU national. Jo in fact comes from the USA. She is currently studying in the UK. What moved her to meet with us? 'I have lots of friends who come from EU countries and I see them being abused and being unable to do anything about it and enforce their rights.'…

On Romanian migrants, from a Romanian migrantSince 2012, I have ‘officially’ been a Romanian migrant in the United Kingdom. When mentioning my nationality, I have witnessed both positive and negative reactions from different groups of people. In 2013, just before work restrictions for Romanians and Bulgarians were lifted, there was extensive negati…

Edoardo came to the UK from Italy in September 2013, to study a postgraduate course at Liverpool University, having studied previously abroad in Canada and Turkey. He came to the UK because he wanted to boost his career prospects and experience another way of living. The UK wasn't his first choice; he preferred Montreal but couldn't afford the fees…

Through contact with the Lithuanian Priest in Peterborough, we found ourselves at a church service on Saturday 5 March 2016, hoping that some Lithuanian nationals might be willing to speak to us about their motivations for coming to the UK and their experiences. The congregation was visibly nervous about speaking to us and most people darted for th…

The UK's Future in Europe: Implications for Ireland7 March 2016Ireland's Ambassaor in London, Daniel Mulhall, gave a lecture in Cambridge as part of the Centre for European Legal Studies' 'referendum conundrums series', in which he explored the implications for Ireland of the UK's renegotiated relationship with the EU. As part of his lecture he tal…

'The Government is conflating welfare deservingness, through taxes, with motivations to migrate', says Dorata when we meet in London over coffee on 2 March.'Polish workers do not come to the UK for benefits. We know, from plenty of research, that they come looking for better opportunities in the labour market as a way to achieve desired living stan…

Everyone says the easy [way to get benefits] is to have a baby. But I know a family with a baby and I asked her 'Why are you not taking benefits?' And she said 'I came to England to work. I didn't come to take the benefits from the Government.

'I stay away from politics. I don't think about it because it could make me get stressed, I could worry unnecessarily about the future. I think whichever way it goes, and if the UK comes out of the EU and there are repercussions for workers in the UK. I will find a way to be here anyway and do what I want to do.'Jakub has been in the UK since 2000.…

'I came to the UK to learn English, get some experience and try something new', said Maryla.Maryla comes from a  small town near Warsaw. She came to the UK a couple of years ago with her husband and children. She has struggled to get her 'dream' job in the UK and works 'just to pay the bills'. 'It's been hard to get the job I want. I don't want to …