The joint report, issued today (8 December) by the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on phase 1 of the negotiations, gives an update on three major issues of concern to the orderly withdrawal from the EU by the UK.
Residency
First amongst these is protecting the rights of Union citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the Union.
The main thrust of these provisions is that those EU citizens who are legally resident in the UK on the date of formal withdrawal, presumed to be in 2019, shall be entitled to remain in residence and to have family members or partners join them here in the UK.
Further stipulations require that any application for a formal residency status (if this is felt to be necessary) be as streamlined and straightforward as possible and require a period of at least two years to allow these applications to be completed.
The agreement further stipulates that those EU citizens wishing to obtain permanent residency status in the UK can travel for up to five years and still retain their rights to residency.
Protected by UK law
The UK Government has agreed that it will legislate to protect EU citizens’ rights when they are resident within the UK, and will incorporate these rights into UK law.
Collaborative research and education
While politicians are keen to point out that this progress allows them to move on to talks of trade, universities across Europe are now keen to press the case for joint working on research after Brexit.
Professor Colin Grant, Vice-President International, has explored this in more detail and you can read his blog here.
For full details of the agreement and the UK response on EU citizens’ rights please see:
Citizens’ rights: administrative procedures in the UK on the UK Government website
