EU Nationals welcome clarity on post-Brexit rights

The employment status of EU nationals arriving in the UK will not change until at least 2021, the Government has said. The Home Office has updated its EU Settlement Scheme: employer toolkit to advise that the rights and status of EU nationals in the UK will remain unaltered until the two-year post-Brexit transition period had ended, regardless of whether the UK left the European Union with a deal covering future freedom of movement.

The Government has gone so far as to say that employers “would not be expected to differentiate between resident EU citizens and those arriving after exit” even in the event of a no-deal Brexit

Employers’ groups have previously suggested that the differences between statements from different branches of government had to be resolved as a matter of urgency and have demanded clear guidance to businesses and individuals as soon as possible on what a no-deal scenario would mean.

The 3.5 million EU citizens currently living and working in the UK will all have the opportunity to apply for settled status granting them indefinite leave to remain in the country. The government has announced that its post-Brexit migration policy will be based on skills, with priority given to high-skilled workers.

EU nationals who have been living in the UK for five years and can satisfy other eligibility criteria, will be able to apply for settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Those EU nationals with less than five years’ residence in the UK are able to apply for so-called pre-settled status.