End of free movement 'brutal' for expats

Uncertainty grows over no deal Brexit plans

HOME Secretary Priti Patel’s promise to end freedom of movement on October 31 in a no-deal Brexit has sparked new fears in expat communities on both sides of the Channel.

The government maintains Britain will leave the European Union on Halloween 'do or die' with or without a deal - and has promised to protect the rights of 3.7 million EU nationals living and working in the UK.

EU citizens have been invited to apply for 'settled status' and have until December 2020 to register under the settlement scheme - and they have been assured no one eligible for this will be barred from re-entering the UK when free movement ends.

However, details of cross border movement and a new immigration scheme have yet to be released. Critics predict chaos and blame the government for ramping up Brexit uncertainty for the five million expats living in both Europe and the UK.

Groups fighting to protect the rights of citizens living abroad say the home secretary’s stance could have implications for British expats as nodeal contingency plans were based on reciprocal treatment for citizens of the remaining 27 EU countries in the UK.

They stress countries like Spain, France and Germany, which have the largest numbers of British residents, have included reciprocity clauses in their no-deal legislation.

Jane Golding, co-chair of pressure group British in Europe, said, “People have never been the real priority in the Brexit negotiations, despite what both sides claimed, and it has always been about reciprocity.

Offer

“Theresa May didn’t accept the EU’s first comprehensive offer on citizens’ rights and didn’t push hard for free movement, which is key for most of the 80% of us who are working age or younger.

“Instead, she made a counter offer because she was obsessed with reducing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK. It was at this point that the bargaining away of our rights and lives began.”

Ms Golding said the rights in the controversial withdrawal agreement were, therefore, 'far from perfect' but a no-deal scenario was far worse. Countries that had passed contingency no-deal laws based them on reciprocal treatment for their citizens in the UK - other EU members 'haven’t decided what the long-term status of British expats would be after a period of grace'.

And she said, “So, the treatment of British citizens in the EU, understandably, depends on how their own citizens are treated in the UK. If the EU 27 see their nationals being treated badly by the UK government, they are likely to reciprocate.

“Attitudes could garden and even if they don’t, the EU 27 could simply adopt a wait and see attitude, which just means more uncertainty.”

Margaret Hales MBE, the Spanish spokesperson for citizen rights group ECREU, added, “No one has even dared to think what will happen for us if the Priti Patel and Boris scenario comes to pass.

Chaos

“Restricted movement with chaotic borders...We have had three years of uncertainty instead of the retired security we carefully planned.”

A Costa Blanca resident, she said, “And many of us were prevented from voting in this life-changing game of chance inflicted on us by our country of birth.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Ed Davey said the end of free movement on October 31 was 'brutal' - especially with the numbers of European citizens living in the UK and 'contributing significantly' to its economy.

He said even former home secretary Sajid Javid thought it impractical to have any abrupt end to free movement. “It is completely detached from reality and is the next chapter in the never-ending saga of the utter mess they have making of Brexit.

“What would this mean for EU citizens who have made their home in the UK who have travelled abroad when they try to return?”

A spokesman for the Home Office said, “EU citizens and their families still have until at least December 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and one million people have already been granted status.

“Freedom of movement as it currently stands will end on October 31 when the UK leaves the EU and after Brexit, the government will introduce a new fairer immigration system that prioritises skills and what people can contribute to the UK, rather than where they come from.”