British expats scramble for passports as Brexit decision leaves them high and dry

When London native Gabriel Fawcett woke up in his Berlin flat to learn his home country had voted to leave the European Union, it was as if his life had been turned on its head.

“My entire existence is now put upside down and I’m not sure what this means for my professional future,” said the 40-year-old tour guide, who works in Germany and several other European countries. “Overnight, the mother ship has left me. If I want to continue the career I have built for myself I will have to get German citizenship.”

Fawcett is one of about 1.2 million British citizens living in other EU countries now forced to reassess the very basics of their existence. As members of the 28-nation bloc, British passport holders could travel, live and work virtually anywhere in the EU. Outside the bloc – depending on the agreement the UK negotiates to exit – such privileges could vanish. Many also wonder what will happen with their pensions and health care.

Such concerns are exactly what’s plaguing Fiona Malcolm. The 40-year-old has been living in France for 15 years and recently bought an apartment in Paris. While her two kids were born in the country, they hold British passports. That may have to change.

“I like living here, I want to stay,” said Malcolm, who works as a statistician in the health care sector. “I feel European and I didn’t need to have another citizenship until now. I guess I’ll have to apply with my kids for French citizenship.”

On Friday in the southern Spanish coastal town of Benalmadena, Welsh pub owner Wayne Greenhalgh, who moved to Spain six years ago, said the result left him trapped between two worlds.

“My first reaction was, ‘Oh no,’” he said. “I’m proud to be British, but I’m part of this community now, I’m European too.”