Despite immigration being one of the key campaign issues during the referendum that led to Brexit, the term “immigration” actually only appears once in the draft agreement. A large section of the document is dedicated to the rights of EU citizens to live in the UK, and also the rights of UK citizens to live in the EU. The much-lauded “taking back control” of migration will happen slowly. EU citizens and their families will retain the right to move to the UK to live and work (and likewise for UK citizens in the EU) until the transition period ends in December 2020.
Those who move to the UK and take up residence before the end of this period will be permitted to remain and, if they stay in the UK for five years, to remain in the country permanently. After the transition period, the draft agreement allows the UK to require EU citizens to apply for a new short, simple and user-friendly residence document. The same will apply to UK citizens in EU countries. A country may ask people to begin to “voluntarily” apply for this residence status before the end of the transition period.
In the future, once the transition period is over, the Outline Political Declaration document states that the UK and the EU will strive to achieve:
- Temporary entry arrangements for “business purposes.”
- Co-operation on tackling illegal immigration
- Visa-free travel for short-term visits
Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale & Oldham
For advice on this or any other issues about immigration, call your local experts: Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale and Scarsdale Solicitors Oldham are proud to serve our clients, combining expert legal knowledge with customer service that is second to none. If you are in need of immigration solicitors Rochdale or immigration solicitors Oldham, call us today on 0161 660 6050.
