European and worried about Brexit? Apply now to have a British passport by March 2019.

The UK Government is working hard to reassure the European citizens in the UK about their rights after Brexit, the latest Statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/status-of-eu-nationals-in-the-uk-what-you-need-to-know

One main point there, and something our audience often point out, that there is no need to apply for residency now (such as for a document certifying permanent residence in the UK under the EU law), as there will be a new system after Brexit. A new system to register EU / EEA nationals and bring them in line with the post-Brexit rules, ie transfer their rights onto the UK national law.

We have been advising to make an application for permanent residence because you could then make an application to become a British Citizen. Once you are British, it won’t matter what the new system will be. – you will be “safe” anyway. The cost of permanent residence application is currently only £65 in governent fees, the amount is still dictated/capped by the EU authorities. Come Brexit, the UK Government will be able to set up its own fees as they please. The Statement on the link above says they promise it would be no more that the cost of a British passport but they don’t specify how much a passport will cost by then!

(The application to become British is a separate thing, ie the next step after permanent residency application. Here the cost is just over £1,200 for everybody, European or not, and it is unlikely to go down.)

Here we assume you wish to become British and dual nationality is not going to cause you any issues with your home country. While the UK allows dual or multiple nationalities, your home country may have its own rules on that, so if they don’t allow it, you have to make a choice.  

If dual nationality is not something your country allows (or if you simply don’t want to have a UK passport),  then you would need some immigration document to reside in the UK after Brexit. You have a choice to apply now and then register under the new system (which should be easier and quicker if you already have a document under the current system) or to wait and do it once under the new system. The choice is yours!


For individual advice or to make an application please contact us info@1st4immigration.com or visit http://www.1st4immigration.com/index.php  We respond emails on the same working day! 1st 4Immigration Ltd, authorised by the OISC, ref 200800152. we operate at the highest Level 3 of expertise. Office address: 68 King William Street, City of London, London, EC4M 7DZ.

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