The UK government has confirmed that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, free movement will end on March 29, 2019. Any EU citizens arriving in the UK after this date will face a new temporary system.
The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, once enacted, will repeal the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, which currently allows free movement in UK law. There will be a temporary transitional period from March 30, 2019 until December 31, 2020 which is intended to give the government time to implement the new immigration system with effect from January 1, 2021.
The effect of these changes means that EU citizens arriving in the UK after March 29 of this year and those who were here before but their continuous residence was broken will need permission to stay and reside in the UK.
EU citizens (and non-EU family members) coming for short visits will be able to enter the UK as they are able to do at present, and may stay for up to three months from the date of each entry. This new leave to remain will be an automatic grant, issued on arrival, with permission to work and study.
Anyone who wishes to stay in the UK longer than the three months, will need to apply to the Home Office for leave to remain within that three month period. Failure to do so will render a person’s presence in the UK unlawful and may make them liable to enforcement action.
Successful extension applicants will receive a non-extendable three year visa. This will allow them to bridge their time in the UK to meet the start date of the new immigration system. If this period is too short for their purposes, a different visa will be available under the new system after January 1, 2021. The visa for the initial three months of entry will be free for EU nationals, but the extension application will attract a fee.
As before, not everyone will qualify under the new arrangements. Many will be required to leave the UK when their valid period of leave expires.
Two Tiers
The effect of this change will be to create two groups of EU citizens: those resident before March 29, 2019 who are eligible to apply for settled status, and those who arrive after this date (or were here prior to that time but do not satisfy the continuous residence requirement) under this temporary system.
The government has confirmed that it will not make a distinction between the two groups until all resident EU citizens and their family members who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme have had a reasonable opportunity to apply for and be granted status. It is anticipated that this will be by the end of December 2020. After that time, employers and others will need to check EU citizens’ status using the Home Office’s Digital Status Checker. Until 2021, EU citizens will continue to be able to evidence their rights to work and to rent property using a passport or national identity card, and non-EU family members will use a biometric residence document.
Close EU family members (spouse, partner, dependent child under 18) can accompany the EU national, ie arrive as a visitor together and stay together. But, as usual for the UK government, if your family members are non-EU citizens it’s a little trickier:
Third country national family members who wish to accompany an EU citizen under the proposed arrangements will need to apply in advance for a family permit and pay the requisite fee.
