Ever since the Brexit referendum in 2016, more than 3.5 million EU citizens residing in the UK and 1.2 million British citizens in the EU have been in uncertainty about their legal status post-Brexit. Although even the Leave Campaign promised that they will be allowed to stay and their rights will not be affected, the legal measures required to ensure that have still not been put in place. The UK and the EU negotiated about the status of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU in the draft Withdrawal Agreement, but the fate of the Agreement is uncertain, and it does, in any case, not provide full protection due to its inadequacies in defining a protective registration system. At the national level, the UK has adopted the EU Settlement Scheme, but its implementation will turn some EU citizens legally residing in the UK into illegal immigrants, with dramatic consequences. To guarantee the rights these citizens hold today, appropriate legal measures need to be taken at both the national and international level. This website has two main pages; 'UK Settled Status' provides analysis of the national measures taken in the UK and proposes improvements to them. This focuses on the position of EU citizens in the UK. 'International protection' looks at the international protection that needs to be provided via UK-EU negotiation. This concerns both EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the EU.
A little photographic footnote
The pictures on this website were taken in Brittany. Looking from the French side over the sea direction UK, the image of what looked like a departing solitary rock and a man staring over the cliff edge appeared rather suggestive of Brexit and the fate of EU citizens residing in the UK.
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A little about myselfI am Professor of EU Law and Director of the Centre for European Law and Governance at Cardiff University. Since 2017 I have given legal advice as a volunteer to the3million, the main civil society organisation representing the interests of EU citizens in the UK, which was established soon after the Brexit referendum. Often this work happened also in collaboration with The British in Europe, defending rights of British citizens residing in the rest of the EU.
Personally, Brexit convinced me to take up British citizenship, in addition to my Belgian citizenship. Residing since more than a decade in the UK, the slow and patchy reaction of the Government after the referendum did not convince me that my current rights as a resident would be sufficiently protected post-Brexit. Yet, for many EU citizens in the UK the option to adopt British citizenship is not available because they are not long enough in the UK, their country of origin does not allow dual citizenship, or the financial cost is simply too high. Moreover, those most vulnerable and less informed may fail to follow required administrative procedures, even if they are eligible. I hope this website can contribute to finding a sound legal solution to ensure EU citizens already in the UK and British citizens in the EU are not deprived of existing rights. |