Formal Brexit negotiations began this week in Brussels as European leaders meet in an attempt to stabilise the rocky path to the UK becoming independent. Last night, Theresa May began discussions regarding what the future may hold for EU citizens living in Britain. So, what really is happening with EU negotiations and what does that mean for EU migrants? We have so many questions...
Who will be allowed to stay in the UK?
May announced to the summit that 3 million EU migrants in Britain before Brexit will be given the right to keep permanent residence after 5 years of living in the UK. However, as this is just a beginning offer, this number could change over further deliberations.
What if a migrant hasn’t been living in Britain for 5 years?
The PM explained that those individuals already in Britain will be given two years in which migrants must either acquire a legal work permit or move back to their home country.
What will the cut-off point be?
The cut-off date for those individuals permitted to stay in the UK is a point of great disagreement between both sides. On Monday, David Davis, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, agreed to the EU’s demand that the deadline should coincide with the date that Britain officially leave the European Union, which is anticipated to be March 2019. However, when May joined the summit yesterday she refused to agree to the proposed expiry date, instead outlining that this is still up for negotiation. The Prime Minister recommended that it would instead fall somewhere between this date, and March 29th of this year, the day Article 50 was triggered.
Will spouses and children be permitted to join?
The answer is most likely. Within her proposal, the Prime Minister explained that she wanted to avoid 'break[ing] up families,' which suggests that immediate relations of those EU citizens already settled in the UK would be allowed to migrate also.
What rights will ‘settled’ migrants have?
Although May’s offer was described by herself as 'fair and serious,' many have argued that the proposal is unjust. President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, explained how the proposal is “the first step, but it's not sufficient”. These individuals who have gained a “settled status” will be given similar rights in terms of education and healthcare, as well as benefits and pensions. Additionally, May has argued that the rights of EU citizens living in the UK will be under UK courts and not the European Court of Justice, as the EU had requested.
Brexit negotiations are still early days, so although this is what the Prime Minister has proposed at the moment it is unlikely that the agreed outcome will be exactly this. Nevertheless, the future doesn’t seem so secure for EU migrants.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.