International couples face uncertain Brexit future

Confusion raises doubts over relationships

The huge uncertainty caused since 2016 by Brexit and its impact on future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union has not just affected businesses, the economy and politics - it has created huge problems for relationships involving people from the UK and EU.

According to the Office of National Statistics, in London alone there are more than 102,000 couples comprising one Briton and one EU national.

But the prospect of a potential Brexit casts a long shadow for mix-nationality couples.

Job relocations, British partners losing the right to live abroad with their EU partners or the status of EU citizens in the UK are all very genuine concerns, with the potential to cause long-distance relationships or breakups.

Briton David Dhannoo is a 32-year-old content editor at a financial services company, and lives outside London in Southend-on-Sea, a town which voted to leave the EU, with his girlfriend, Ludka, 31, an architect from Slovakia.

"We met via social media from having common interests and met when I spent a weekend in Bratislava in 2015," Dhannoo told China Daily.

"Life before the referendum was great. We had our own apartment in Slovakia and flew back for work meetings in London."

At the time he believed a majority of the British public would be voting to remain, so the final outcome - 51.9 percent, or 17,410,742 votes for Leave, against 48.1 percent, or 16,141,241, for Remain -  left the couple disappointed and confused about the future.

"I was in Slovakia the day of the referendum and was glad I wasn't in England. I called my mum that day and she said on the bus to work people were arguing about the results and it nearly got violent. It just took one day for people to really show their true colors," he said.

The results did not stop the pair from moving back to the UK later that year, though, as Ludka thought there would be more opportunities than in Slovakia.

"She speaks English, and I can't speak Slovak, so it made sense to live and work in the UK," Dhannoo explained.

But with no clear direction on when, how or even if Britain now will leave the EU, Dhannoo worries for the future.

"She's only been here for two years, but hopes that her job as an architect will somehow keep her here," he said. "I'd move back to Slovakia if she had no other alternative, despite it being difficult for myself to find work."

Ludka is now considering applying for settled status in order to remain in the country after Brexit.

There are estimated to be 3.8 million EU citizens living in the UK. To remain in the UK once the country is no longer part of the EU, such people must apply online for "settled status" if they have lived in the UK for at least five years, or "pre-settled status"if they have not reached that threshold.

Dhannoo hopes to see Article 50, the political decision that triggered the process of Britain leaving the EU, revoked, but would also "settle for a second vote" as he believes Remain would win in another referendum.

"It's a very nervy and unsettling time and I feel the UK is going backwards rather than forwards," he added.

Twenty-eight-year-old charity worker Anne is from the Netherlands and has been living in London for five years.

She met her British partner, Joe, 30, just weeks before the Brexit referendum. After the results Anne had a lot of concerns on her right to remain in the UK.

"The Netherlands is quite strict when it comes to dual nationality," she said.

"If the case of me staying here was to get a British passport then I'm not willing to give up my Dutch nationality. I'm a bit calmer now because there have been talks about permanent residency if you have been here for a certain amount of years."

However, she is unsure if she will apply for the government's settled status scheme yet following reports that the application process has been filled with glitches, delays and rejected documents.

Despite worries about what Brexit will bring and an on-going lack of clarity about the future rights of EU citizens, Anne is staying optimistic over her relationship.

"We've chatted about it and we will just have to work something out," she said. "There's always a solution."