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
