EU nationals that are already in the UK do not need to do anything as a result of Article 50 being triggered. There will be no change to the rights and status of EU nationals living in the UK while the UK remains in the EU.
Under EU law you don’t need a document to confirm your residence status in the UK, however, it is often beneficial for certain reasons such as finding employment. You will still need a document to prove your status if you want to apply for British citizenship or if you’re an extended family member of an EU national.
If you are planning to apply for a document just to confirm your status, you can sign up for Home Office email alerts instead. These email updates will let you know about developments that might affect you, including the steps that you may need to take to confirm your status in the UK after we leave the EU.
Our team at Elm Rose Consultancy is working hard in continuing to assist EU nationals in the UK looking to confirm their status and those outside of the UK (including non-EU national family members), looking to enter under EU law.
EU nationals continue to have a right to enter and live in the UK. EU nationals that have been exercising Treaty Rights in the UK over the last 5 years, can continue to apply for permanent residency. This will not change while the UK is part of the EU. There will be no change to the rights and status of non-EU family members of EU nationals while the UK remains in the EU. If you’re from the EU but your family member isn’t, they continue to have a right to live in the UK.
There will be no change to the rights and status of Croatian nationals while the UK remains in the EU. It continues to be the case that Croatian nationals might need to apply for a registration certificate to be allowed to work in the UK.
It continues to be the case that EU nationals can only be removed from the UK if they:
– are considered to pose a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to the public
– aren’t lawfully resident or are abusing their EU free movement rights
The UK remains a full member of the EU until we exit the EU. All the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in place until then.
The Prime Minister was clear in her letter to the President of the European Council that we should seek an early agreement on the rights of UK nationals in the EU, and EU nationals in the UK, on a reciprocal basis. This is a priority issue for the forthcoming negotiations and as the Prime Minister has emphasised, the interests of citizens will come first.
Once there is an agreement with the EU, further information will be published about the status of EU nationals in the UK after we leave the EU and the next steps for EU nationals in the UK.
If you are an EU national or a family member of an EU national, contact us today for advice and assistance.