12 March 2018

The UK government’s recently published proposal on citizens’ rights for EU nationals who arrive during the two year transition period has been rejected by the European Parliament as not being generous enough, insisting that the status quo must remain.

At present, the UK has proposed that EU nationals and their family members who arrive during the implementation period between March 2019 and March 2021 will enjoy the following rights:

• eligibility to obtain indefinite leave to remain in the UK (ILR) (after a period of five continuous years of lawful residence);
• temporary status permitting them to remain in the UK after the implementation period concludes and potentially become eligible for ILR;
• the ability to have their rights protected by UK courts rather than the European Court of Justice; and
• the ability to be joined by foreign family members after the implementation period ends provided they meet the same criteria in place at that time for British citizens seeking to do the same. Under the current rules, British nationals seeking to bring non-EEA partners must meet a minimum salary threshold of £18,600. It is presumed that this, or a similar requirement, will be extended to all foreign family members seeking to enter the UK after the implementation period.

The European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has said that EU citizens arriving during any transition period must not be forced to accept a lower standard of rights, in particular those relating to family reunion and access to judicial redress via the European Court of Justice.

With a caveat to December’s agreement in principle that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’, it remains to be seen if the two sides will be able to reach agreement in time for the European Council Summit at the end of March, as desired by the UK.