It surprises me that many people in the general public do not seem to be aware of this or perhaps choose to ignore it. If you voted leave simply because of concerns about immigration you should take the time to read this.
This from
“Mrs May fails to mention that the UK has had several chances to restrict freedom of movement from the EU, but chose not to take them: in 2004, when the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the trade bloc; then again in 2007 when Bulgaria and Romania were added; and finally in 2013, with the accession of Croatia.
The UK had the option to restrict the right of citizens from these countries to work in Britain for up to seven years – but was one of only three countries (alongside Sweden and Ireland) that chose not to.
And you might think from Mrs May’s words that all non-EU migrants are currently treated equally by the UK immigration system, regardless of nationality. But that’s not the case.
Non-EU visitors to the UK must get a visa, unless they come from one of 56 “exempt” countries (e.g. Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil and Australia) whose nationals are allowed to stay in the country for up to six months before they need a visa.
If you’re not from an exempt country – like South Africa, India, China and Pakistan – there are other, more restrictive rules in place on who can travel and work here.
That means that – completely unrelated to our membership of the EU – the UK immigration system already discriminates between people based on where they’re from.”