Given growing ministerial support for a vote of no confidence against Theresa May following her draft-Brexit deal on Thursday, which triggered the resignation of several key ministers including Dominic Raab the then Brexit Secretary, we have considered previous statements made in relation to EU residents in terms of the impact to their right to reside in the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Assurances have been made from the Home Office that, in a no-deal scenario, the UK will honour commitments made to EU nationals and their family members resident in the UK by 29 March 2019. However, assurances have not been made in relation to EU nationals arriving from 29 March.
In the event if a no-deal Brexit, the Rules governing EU nationals residing or seeking to reside in the UK will fall under domestic UK law, which of course can be changed. Meaning if a deal is not agreed, the UK Government will have the ability to introduce new Immigration Rules immediately.
EU nationals present in the UK by 29 March 2019 should have the ability to apply for indefinite leave to remain if they qualify or limited leave to remain under the EU Settled Status Scheme and Pre-Settled Status Scheme.
For those entering post-29 March 2019, the Government could introduce a tougher set of Rules. However, they would need to differentiate between those EU nationals entering before and after 29 March 2019 as they have given EU migrants living in the UK until December 2020 to apply for Settled or Pre-Settled Status.
If you are an EU national and require advice and assistance in relation to applying for settled status in the UK please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team – we have assisted many clients in obtaining their immigration status successfully giving them and their family members peace-of-mind.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2018