Its peculiar and very annoying.
One has to be very careful in the Americas to keep one's nose clean to avoid a permanent trip home.
And here every single person and their documents are checked in and out of the country, national or foreigner. You must carry your ID and proof of permission to be here at all times.
No proof of legal presence and you cannot get a tax number or an id. Without those you cannot get a phone, rent a flat, buy anything from a store, use a library, school or any other state institution, have a bank account, cash a cheque, receive a money transfer, use a hotel or hostel, rent a car, get medical care (other than emergency keep you alive for a bit stuff), are subject to arrest, detention and deportation if your spotted, etc. etc. etc.
Have a car accident where someone is injured and you go to jail until you can prove your insurance is valid and your car is legal. Even if that takes months, and it can.
Even if you are legal here, break the law, you're out.
Now what can conceivably be wrong with that? And why can't the EU/UK do it?
I strongly believe that anybody should be able to live and work anywhere. There should be no restriction, merely documentation. But if you offend the laws of the country that you are in, there should be no hesitation.
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