Tomorrow the government will say what will happen to free movement in the event of a no-deal Brexit. I understand that free movement will be replaced by a three-year temporary Leave to Remain Scheme for EU nationals who arrive in the UK before 31 December 2020 and register with the EU settlement scheme. Their three years would start from December 2020. So, in other words, if you are an EU citizen who arrives in the UK in March 2020 you would be entitled to stay until at least December 2023.
This is a significant change from previous government plans to end free movement on 1 November in the event of no deal. It should provide more certainty to EU nationals considering taking a job in the UK and deal with many of the problems that Fraser Nelson set out in last week’s cover piece.
The change from the current set up is that the UK criminality threshold, which is considerably lower than the EU one, will be proactively applied.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in