Living and Working in the UK after Brexit – What we know so far

published on October 10, 2018 / reading time approx. 5 minutes  
 

The ongoing rights of EU citizens in the UK and reciprocal rights of British citizens in the EU has been one of the key discussion points during the Brexit withdrawal negotiations. It is, along, with the Northern Irish border issue and how much the UK owes the EU, one of the three key “divorce” issues still to be determined.
  
 

• Citizens’ rights

• What if the UK leaves the EU without a deal?

• UK Immigration

• No preference for EU workers post-Brexit

• What’s next?

Citizens’ rights   

What if the UK leaves the EU without a deal? 

The full Settlement Scheme is yet to be incorporated into UK law and, as above, is still subject to overall agreement by the EU on citizens’ rights, many issues of which are still being debated. However, the UK government is expected to confirm that even in the event that no deal is reached, EU citizens and their families will still be entitled to stay in the UK under the Settlement Scheme. Leaked Cabinet papers in August 2018 have indicated that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Government proposes to “take the moral high ground” and allow EU citizens to stay in the UK. Although not an official announcement and with little detail to go on, this is in accordance with ministerial promises since the referendum: EU citizens already here will be able to stay.
 

UK Immigration

The Government’s Brexit White Paper published in mid-July after the Cabinet’s Chequers meeting sets out an intention to preserve free movement for skilled workers in some form, however, no official statement has yet been made as to its proposals.
 

• Limiting the number of EU citizens able to come to the UK to undertake low-skilled work;
• A requirement for EU citizens to demonstrate proof of a job offer in the UK prior to entering for the purpose of work;
• Limiting the duration of work visas to two years unless the individual is performing a highly-skilled role and has an employment contract lasting longer than one year
• Introducing an income threshold for those wanting to come to the UK as “self-sufficient”
• A requirement for certain travellers to the UK to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation before they travel. This would operate in a similar way to the US ESTA system and allow the screening and vetting of travellers before they travel to the UK.
    

Over the past few weeks, the EU’s and the UK Parliament’s response to the Chequers’ plan has not been positive. Within the UK, both those who oppose Brexit and those who want a clean break are unhappy with what they see as a compromise deal, and the EU’s response is that the trade parts of the plan are currently unacceptable
 

No preference for EU workers post-Brexit

More recently, a report by the Migration Advisory Committee (an independent public body which advises ministers on migration issues) recommended in a report published on 18 September 2018 that the cap on the number of highly-skilled migrants coming to the UK (currently 20,700 non-EEA migrants per year) should be scrapped, the rationale being that these workers make more of a positive contribution to public finances. As part of this process, the report also suggested that EEA workers should be subject to the same visa rules as other migrants, meaning the existing points based system for non-EEA migrants, known as “Tier 2”.
 
With regards to low-skilled workers, the Committee said that it was not convinced that there needs to be a work route for low-skilled workers from the EU to fill jobs in industries such as catering or hospitality.
 
The Cabinet has, on 25 September 2018 agreed with the recommendations in principle, being in favour of “a system based on skills rather than nationality”. However, this “agreement” does not constitute a firm decision and there may still need to be some “light-touch migration” rules for EU nationals as part of any wider Brexit trade deal.
 

What’s next?

Against the backdrop of the current political uncertainly, the detail as to how the UK will manage its borders post-Brexit may not become clear for some time. With now only a few months to go until the UK leaves the EU, the reality of life and work in a post- Brexit UK is, in many ways, still to be determined. Developments in the coming weeks and months will be critical and shall be closely monitored.