Javid asks for confirmation of UK expats’ rights

SAJID Javid has attacked EU members over a lack of preparation for protecting the rights of UK citizens after Brexit.

The Home Secretary is pressing European leaders for details of arrangements for British expats seeking to remain in the EU.

He said the UK had taken significant steps to protect the rights of European Union citizens in Britain, but there is a lack of evidence that the rest of the EU is taking the issue as seriously for UK citizens.

Mr Javid said it is “currently unclear” what systems member states are creating to ensure the rights of UK citizens in their countries are protected after the end of the implementation period in December 2020.

He raised his concerns as he provided an update on the progress of the settlement scheme for EU nationals living in Britain.

In a letter to Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator, he wrote: “As you would expect, the UK Government also cares very deeply about the reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals living in the EU27 Member States. We are concerned that as yet we have seen little information about the practical arrangements for securing their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

“Is the European Parliament able to provide any reassurance about progress on equivalent arrangements for UK nationals?”

Analysis published last year found that about 900,000 UK citizens were living in other EU countries.

Government officials are preparing from scratch an application scheme that will be open to more than three million EU citizens resident in the UK later this year. Those who have been in the country for five years by the end of 2020 will be able to apply for settled status, meaning they are free to go on living and working in the UK. People who have arrived by December 31, 2020, but do not have five years’ residence will be able to apply to stay until they have reached the threshold, at which point they can seek settled status. In his letter, Mr Javid, left, said: “Our default position will be to say ‘yes’ to applications.”