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UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

independent.co.uk

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Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#31

Post by toyg »

yandie wrote: post #11
toyg wrote: post #2

It makes sense, I don't think anyone could realistically expect anything different. Considering it's basically a starting negotiating position, it's actually pretty good from my perspective (EU national who has formally been granted permanent residency by exercising his treaty rights). Obviously the devil is in the details, i.e. what it will mean exactly "after the cutoff date": if one has lived in UK long enough to…

> If you are an EU citizen living in UK, you should absolutely ask to exercise your rights TODAY; do not delay, do not trust news reports, it's just a bit of bureaucracy but could make a big difference in your future. Make sure you send documents as recorded delivery and track each and every date. Apparently my Dutch friend who has a PhD funded by the UK government can't apply for permanent residency because she does…

That's wrong, the 35k threshold is for non-EU people only. I dearly hope she wasn't willingly misinformed by civil servants.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#32

Post by hackerboos »

jaimebuelta wrote: post #4
toyg wrote: post #2

It makes sense, I don't think anyone could realistically expect anything different. Considering it's basically a starting negotiating position, it's actually pretty good from my perspective (EU national who has formally been granted permanent residency by exercising his treaty rights). Obviously the devil is in the details, i.e. what it will mean exactly "after the cutoff date": if one has lived in UK long enough to…

It doesn't make sense at all. Until the end of the two years of the Article 50 negotiation (or before, if both the EU and the UK agree), the UK is a full member of the EU, with all the obligations that this entitles. That includes the right to live and work of citizens of other EU countries. Restricting that unilaterally is a gross violation of the treaties.

They're not violating the treaties, they are saying if EU citizens come after a certain date then their residency is not guaranteed.

EU citizens will be free to come right up until the UK exits the EU but those that came after said date will likely have to apply for visas. Those before will keep residency.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#33

Post by teniutza »

struppi wrote: post #12

OK, wait, this does not make sense. If half of Romania an Bulgaria wanted to come to the UK, they would already be there. Because free movement already exists. Why would anyone decide now to "quickly move to the UK", just because they are leaving the EU? I would rather see this as a disincentive to move there, as a EU citicen, right now...

I agree. There already was a (failed) "Romanian invasion" several years ago. Furthermore, the recent events & decisions have given the UK, at leas in my immigrant eyes, a relative sense of insecurity. I would personally not relocate without knowing how the brexiters would react towards immigrants, regardless of the legality of their stay.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#34

Post by rodionos »

Is there a government resource supporting these statistics:

  > 3.6 million EU citizens who are already in Britain
  > 1.2 million British citizens living in other EU countries
I like the Economist in this regard, they seem to always reference source data. It could be explained by the differences in editorial policies or the fact that the Economist is on a weekly release schedule, so their fact-checkers have more time to backup their inputs.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#35

Post by oblio »

golergka wrote: post #20
struppi wrote: post #12

OK, wait, this does not make sense. If half of Romania an Bulgaria wanted to come to the UK, they would already be there. Because free movement already exists. Why would anyone decide now to "quickly move to the UK", just because they are leaving the EU? I would rather see this as a disincentive to move there, as a EU citicen, right now...

Because you're probably a high-paid professional (reasonable assumption for a HN user) and are not considering staying in the country illegally after you arrive.

Why wouldn't they stay, legally or ilegally, in the equally rich Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Austria? All of which are closer to the origin countries than the UK.

Or why wouldn't they go in the slightly-less-richer, but culturally closer Spain or Italy? Especially since the weather is much nicer over there :)

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#36

Post by Symbiote »

toyg wrote: post #2

It makes sense, I don't think anyone could realistically expect anything different. Considering it's basically a starting negotiating position, it's actually pretty good from my perspective (EU national who has formally been granted permanent residency by exercising his treaty rights). Obviously the devil is in the details, i.e. what it will mean exactly "after the cutoff date": if one has lived in UK long enough to…

> It makes sense, I don't think anyone could realistically expect anything different

I might not expect it, but I do hope that a country that prides itself on the rule of law, and the historic influence it had in the world, would not break the terms of an international treaty.

> it's actually pretty good from my perspective

Are you familiar with the British expression, "I'm all right, Jack"?

> exercise your rights TODAY ... it's just a bit of bureaucracy

Ah, the 85 page form with the £65 fee, which many of my friends are worried they'll not be able to fill in correctly -- especially after all the stories in the British press of the long-term residents whose applications were rejected.

For comparison, the Danish form for permanent residency has 6 pages in English (and 6 in Danish, it's bilingual), no fee, and only requires copies of the last few tax returns and a current job contract. Unfortunately, even if Britain remains in the UK until, say, 31 March 2019, I'll still be a few months short of the 5 year requirement.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#37

Post by EasyTiger_ »

alecco wrote: post #6

It's sad how even the Independent is now taken by misleading headlines. They are considering stopping it 'after a “cut-off date”'' to prevent abuse of people from poor eastern Europe countries to flood UK before it leaves the EU. Right there in the first couple of paragraphs. I used to have a lot of respect for the BBC, Financial Times, and The Independent. Even The Guardian being partisan had the basic decency of pu…

Yup I fully agree, the change in the BBC has become the most disheartening for me. One of their subheadlines right now is "Nine epic award fails" - like something straight out of Buzzfeed

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#38

Post by pavlov »

_yosefk wrote: post #13
toyg wrote: post #2

It makes sense, I don't think anyone could realistically expect anything different. Considering it's basically a starting negotiating position, it's actually pretty good from my perspective (EU national who has formally been granted permanent residency by exercising his treaty rights). Obviously the devil is in the details, i.e. what it will mean exactly "after the cutoff date": if one has lived in UK long enough to…

"This country has decided they don't need you and me, they don't deserve our labour, our ideas and our taxes." What about an EU citizen deciding to move to the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil or India? These countries were never in the EU. Did they therefore decide they don't need EU citizens? If not, why is the UK after it exits from the EU necessarily a less welcoming place for EU citizens than other non-EU countries…

The United States is not a welcoming place for EU citizens. Immigration is strictly limited, the procedures expensive and time-consuming. If that's the bar for the UK government, the grandparent poster is right: it's not going to be worth even looking at Britain.

To put it another way: if working in London, New York and San Francisco are going to be equally difficult to arrange, I'm not sure why anyone would prefer London. Housing is as expensive as NY or SF, yet wages are much lower. The weather isn't great either.

Re: UK government considering a “cut-off date” for EU citizens’ rights to residency

#40

Post by teniutza »

golergka wrote: post #20
struppi wrote: post #12

OK, wait, this does not make sense. If half of Romania an Bulgaria wanted to come to the UK, they would already be there. Because free movement already exists. Why would anyone decide now to "quickly move to the UK", just because they are leaving the EU? I would rather see this as a disincentive to move there, as a EU citicen, right now...

Because you're probably a high-paid professional (reasonable assumption for a HN user) and are not considering staying in the country illegally after you arrive.

Why would "half a country" risk insecurity and (occasional) hostility from locals, to remain illegally in the UK, when there are quite a few other viable options within the EU?
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