If I understand correctly, EU citizens can move to the UK under the current laws and they will get same status after the Brexit. For how long they can move to UK under the current laws and when will be the new immigration law enforced?
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The eventual outcome will likely depend on whether you're working, student, on welfare, retired, joining other family members and what their status is, etc.– smciMar 22, 2017 at 14:22
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note: until we know more any Brexit questions referring to EU nationals are duplicate of the canoncial one. Please edit the CW answer there to add new details.– SztupY ♦Mar 22, 2017 at 14:45
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2 Answers
(Answer up-to-date as of 2017-03-22)
If I understand correctly, EU citizens can move to the UK under the current laws
Correct.
and they will get same status after the Brexit.
Wrong.
The post-Brexit status of current or future EU citizens in the UK is currently unknown. Analists consider it likely that their status will eventually be guaranteed, but currently this is speculation.
For how long they can move to UK under the current laws and when will be the new immigration law enforced?
Unknown.
The uncertainty facing EU citizens in the UK is one among many political issues in the UK. The House of Lords tried to pass an amendment guaranteeing their (our) rights, but the House of Commons effectively overruled them (BBC News).
Current EU law still fully applies and the UK hasn't made any major change to its immigration regime since the Brexit referendum.
As far as EU law is concerned, freedom of movement should apply until the actual Brexit happens, which should be two years after the UK triggers article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union. The British government stated plan is to notify the Council of its intention to withdraw from the EU on March 29, 2017.
Legally, two things could alter this timeframe. Firstly, article 50 provides that the treaties cease to apply once the withdrawal agreement enters into force. So the UK could leave the EU before March 2019 if an agreement is reached earlier. Secondly, the same paragraph also allows the EU to extend the deadline of negotiation if all EU countries agree. Both of these presently seem unlikely.
Furthermore, the UK could also conceivably cease to apply EU law unilaterally, for example by introducing some new restrictions or requirements on EU citizens' residence. I recall that some MPs toyed with the idea but this would force the EU to retaliate and make negotiations even more difficult so I don't think it's very likely.
After that, what will happen is even less clear. It's possible, although not particularly likely at this stage, that the EU and UK will enter some sort of Swiss-style association agreement with minimal changes to the immigration regime. It's also possible that it would create a completely different immigration regime but allow EU citizens currently in the UK to stay under EU rules, perhaps in exchange for reciprocity for the British citizens living in the UK.
In that case, something like the current rules would still apply to some people for many years. It's also conceivable that this would only apply during some sort of transition period or perhaps only for people who already lived in the UK before the referendum or some other specific date set during the negotiation. But all this is obviously very speculative, there is no way to know at this stage.
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"...for the British citizens living in the UK." should be in the EU I assume. Mar 22, 2017 at 14:23