Around 3.6 million EU nationals currently live in the UK, including nearly 600,000 children. Ever since the EU Referendum result in June 2016, there has been much discussion around what will happen to these people, and indeed what will happen to UK citizens who have already settled in other EU countries, once Brexit has happened.
Uncertainty was lifted in December 2017 when Theresa May confirmed all EU nationals living in the UK will now be able to gain “settled status” and stay here indefinitely, ending many months of concern and speculation. In addition to guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens and their family members living in the UK after Brexit, the Government has now agreed that UK nationals living in the EU will also receive protection. There will be no change to the status of EU citizens living in the UK whilst it remains in the EU.
Essentially, when the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019, no EU citizen currently living here legally will be required to leave the country. Under the new agreement, EU citizens who arrive by this leaving date and have lived in the UK for 5 years or more will be able to apply to stay going forward by gaining this ‘settled status’. Notably, there will still be sufficient time for people to apply for and receive their new residence status after the UK leaves the EU.
What if they’ve been here less than 5 years?
If an EU national has not lived in the UK for 5 years or more when the country leaves the EU, they can still apply for permission to stay on until they reach the 5-year threshold. After that, they can then apply for settled status in the same way. EU citizens who wish to stay in the UK will be able to apply for their new status through a specially designed scheme due to get underway later this year. All rights to UK benefits, pensions and access to healthcare will stay the same.
Family members
Any family member of an EU national - whether dependant or not - who is currently living with or planning to join family who are already here needs to have done so by 29th March 2019. They will then also be able to apply for settled status after 5 years in the UK.
Children born to resident EU nationals living in the UK after it has left the EU are protected as long as their parents are. Close family members will also still be able to apply to join their families in the UK after Brexit.
Changes to the application process for settled status
The new application process to achieve settled status for EU citizens will be very different from the one that’s in use at the moment in terms of documentation. At present, permanent residence documents are explicit in confirming that an individual has rights under European law. In future, EU law will no longer apply to the UK, and the migration and status of EU nationals will be subject to UK law.
If you have gone through the process already and received a document stating you have permanent residence here, all you will need to do is exchange it for settled status.
Giselle Brown is an expert legal advisor with years of experience in all areas of UK immigration from Tier 1 Visas to naturalisation and citizenship.