The UK government has published a citizens’ rights agreement which governs the residence rights of nationals from the three “EEA EFTA” countries – Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein – if there is no Brexit deal. The nations are not in the EU, but are in the European single market. Citizens of these three countries will have their rights protected by international agreement and domestic UK legislation.
The agreement will ensure that the rights of nationals from these countries living in the UK and those of UK nationals will be protected even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Although there is already a similar agreement to this effect, this new confirmation ensures there will be no disruption in the event no deal is concluded with the EU. Those falling within scope of the citizens’ rights agreement will have broadly the same right to work, study and access public services and benefits as they do now.
Similar protections exist for two other countries. The existing citizens’ rights treaty with Switzerland applies whether or not a deal is brokered, and there is also special provision in the Immigration Bill for Irish citizens to reinforce the Common Travel Area.
