EU migrants welcome to remain in UK indefinitely as Prime Minister outlines special settled status deal

Prime Minister Theresa May announced today plans to allow EU citizens living in the UK to remain here as residents following Brexit designed to put their "anxiety to rest".

Prime Minister Theresa May

Briefing MP’s in the parliament on the outcome of Friday’s EU summit, Mrs May confirmed that all EU nationals lawfully resident for at least five years will be able to apply for "settled status" and to bring spouses and children, the BBC reports.

EU migrants who arrived after a date yet to be agreed will have two years to "regularise their status" but will not enjoy the same rights.

The government has published a document summarising the UK's offer to EU citizens, which you can read here.

May said she wanted to give reassurance and certainty to the 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK - in addition to citizens of the three EEA countries and Switzerland – as they are an "integral part of the economic and cultural fabric" of the UK.

However, she wants any deal on their future legal status and rights to be reciprocal and also give certainty to the 1.2 million British expats living on the continent after the UK leaves the EU - expected to be on 29 March 2019.

This promise could prove difficult to keep, as EU countries, such as France and Spain, already have less advantageous conditions for British expats than offered to EU citizens living and working in the UK. 

For instance, retired Brits are now facing the bleak prospect of paying for expensive health insurance or jumping on an Easyjet flight home every time they need treatment. This option could become closed to them if they are no longer resident in the UK.

The main points of the UK's proposal to EU citizens are:

• EU migrants granted settled status will be able to live, work, study and claim benefits as they can now
• The important cut-off date for eligibility will be no earlier than 29 March 2017 and no later than 29 March 2019
• EU family members of EU citizens living abroad will be allowed to return and apply for settled status
• Those EU nationals in the UK for less than five years at the specified date will be allowed to continue living and working in the UK and once resident for five years, they can apply for settled status
• Migrants arriving after the cut-off point will be able to stay temporarily, however, they should have "no expectation" that they will be granted permanent residence
• A period of "blanket residence permission" with less of the onerous requirements may apply to give officials time to process applications to stay in the UK
• The Home Office will no longer request evidence that EU citizens who weren't working held "comprehensive sickness insurance"

Those granted settled status, which is the same as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR) or permanent residence, will be "treated as if they were UK citizens for healthcare, benefits and pensions".

Mrs May added that the process of application – currently an 85-page form - would be simplified and a "light touch" approach applied to EU citizens, although she did say that criminal record checks will still be carried out when pressed by opposition MP's. 

Non-EU citizens will continue to endure the ever-changing lengthy Home Office forms and increasing high fees in order to gain indefinite leave to remain in the UK.  

"Under these plans, no EU citizen currently in the UK lawfully will be asked to leave at the point the UK leaves the EU," Mrs May said.

The widely expected plan should be good news for migrants worried about their post-Brexit status in the UK. Since Britons voted to leave the EU last year there has been a sharp increase in applications for ILR and UK citizenship. It has been suggested that those who have already obtained ILR may still have to apply for settled status.

Croatian citizens are currently subject to a 7 year restriction - similar to those imposed on previous EU entrants Bulgaria and Romania - on working from the date Croatia joined the EU.

Despite fears that hundreds of thousands or European citizens living here would return home, most seem to have remained as they have already made their life in the UK either running businesses or holding down good jobs.

UK property prices have started to fall slightly following the Brexit vote and recent general election which saw the Conservatives lose their overall majority.

See also:

UK election splits the country and calls for a softer Brexit approach

Cyprus, the fastest route to EU citizenship and European passports for you and your family

Fines issued to landlords under right-to-rent offences

Turn Your Passion into Profit

EU migrants welcome to remain in UK indefinitely as Prime Minister outlines special settled status deal

Prime Minister Theresa May announced today plans to allow EU citizens living in the UK to remain here as residents following Brexit designed to put their "anxiety to rest".

Briefing MP’s in the parliament on the outcome of Friday’s EU summit, Mrs May confirmed that all EU nationals lawfully resident for at least five years will be able to apply for "settled status" and to bring spouses and children, the BBC reports.

EU migrants who arrived after a date yet to be agreed will have two years to "regularise their status" but will not enjoy the same rights.

The government has published a document summarising the UK's offer to EU citizens, which you can read here.

May said she wanted to give reassurance and certainty to the 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK - in addition to citizens of the three EEA countries and Switzerland – as they are an "integral part of the economic and cultural fabric" of the UK.

However, she wants any deal on their future legal status and rights to be reciprocal and also give certainty to the 1.2 million British expats living on the continent after the UK leaves the EU - expected to be on 29 March 2019.

This promise could prove difficult to keep, as EU countries, such as France and Spain, already have less advantageous conditions for British expats than offered to EU citizens living and working in the UK. 

For instance, retired Brits are now facing the bleak prospect of paying for expensive health insurance or jumping on an Easyjet flight home every time they need treatment. This option could become closed to them if they are no longer resident in the UK.

The main points of the UK's proposal to EU citizens are:

• EU migrants granted settled status will be able to live, work, study and claim benefits as they can now
• The important cut-off date for eligibility will be no earlier than 29 March 2017 and no later than 29 March 2019
• EU family members of EU citizens living abroad will be allowed to return and apply for settled status
• Those EU nationals in the UK for less than five years at the specified date will be allowed to continue living and working in the UK and once resident for five years, they can apply for settled status
• Migrants arriving after the cut-off point will be able to stay temporarily, however, they should have "no expectation" that they will be granted permanent residence
• A period of "blanket residence permission" with less of the onerous requirements may apply to give officials time to process applications to stay in the UK
• The Home Office will no longer request evidence that EU citizens who weren't working held "comprehensive sickness insurance"

Those granted settled status, which is the same as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR) or permanent residence, will be "treated as if they were UK citizens for healthcare, benefits and pensions".

Mrs May added that the process of application – currently an 85-page form - would be simplified and a "light touch" approach applied to EU citizens, although she did say that criminal record checks will still be carried out when pressed by opposition MP's. 

Non-EU citizens will continue to endure the ever-changing lengthy Home Office forms and increasing high fees in order to gain indefinite leave to remain in the UK.  

"Under these plans, no EU citizen currently in the UK lawfully will be asked to leave at the point the UK leaves the EU," Mrs May said.

The widely expected plan should be good news for migrants worried about their post-Brexit status in the UK. Since Britons voted to leave the EU last year there has been a sharp increase in applications for ILR and UK citizenship. It has been suggested that those who have already obtained ILR may still have to apply for settled status.

Croatian citizens are currently subject to a 7 year restriction - similar to those imposed on previous EU entrants Bulgaria and Romania - on working from the date Croatia joined the EU.

Despite fears that hundreds of thousands or European citizens living here would return home, most seem to have remained as they have already made their life in the UK either running businesses or holding down good jobs.

UK property prices have started to fall slightly following the Brexit vote and recent general election which saw the Conservatives lose their overall majority.

See also:

UK election splits the country and calls for a softer Brexit approach

Cyprus, the fastest route to EU citizenship and European passports for you and your family

Fines issued to landlords under right-to-rent offences

Turn Your Passion into Profit

Update for Croatians who want to work or study in the UK

Croatian nationals are still confused about the rules and regulations when it comes to working or studying in the UK. After all, they are members of the European union but do not have complete 'free movement of labour' rights in many EU countries.

The seven-year restriction, which was also applied to Romanians and Bulgarians when they joined the EU, means that whilst they are free to enter Britain without a Visa and set up a business or study, they cannot take a job on an employed basis without permission from the Home Office. 

There are jobs available under permits, sometimes called purple cards, which are detailed on the Home Office website. For instance, you can quite easily obtain a work permit as a Nurse working for the NHS, as there is a shortage of nurses in the UK. But you will not get a work permit for a lower skilled job, such as a care worker or waiter in a restaurant.

The rule was introduced to regulate migration from newly joining countries from Eastern Europe following the unexpected mess migration from countries like Poland after the first expansion in 2004. At this time, nations like Germany France and Spain applied similar restrictions, which led to millions of migrants going to the UK Ireland and Sweden.

Britain's population has swelled by over 2 million since the EU you expansion, which has ultimately resulted in a majority 'out' vote during last months EU referendum, despite warnings of the economic perils of going it alone.

In terms of the rules for Croatian integration, nothing has changed or will change for the next two to three years. However, in recent months before the Brexit vote, the process was not becoming any easier.

If you arrive in the UK from Croatia expecting to walk into a job you will be disappointed, and without income you could run out of money very quickly.

Firstly, any legitimate employer will asked to see a national insurance number. Obtaining an N I number is not easy, Even if you were setting up a business here and legally working on a self-employed basis.

Secondly, if you want to work on a self-employed basis you will be restricted to a small number of occupations and agencies, for instance cleaning companies. If you are planning to go down this route, you should line up at a job before you travel, as it is expensive to live in the UK and you will quickly run out of funds without a job.

Finally, the popular student route is still available but the waiting time to obtain a yellow permit card, as well as paying fees to a college, has deterred people. The rules have not changed, but the guidance seems to have tightened up based on recent decisions. Postal applications are taking several months and it is extremely difficult to get an appointment for the same day service.

It goes without saying that you need to think very carefully about travelling to a country without a job or detailed knowledge of the rules.

Fortunately, the Internet and multi-billion dollar digital economy has given people the opportunity to earn money without travelling across borders or applying for visas.

Anyone can now set up a home based Internet business working from home or selling goods online. Companies like Amazon, eBay and Upwork offer everyone an opportunity to earn a living and even make a fortune working from home and living the laptop lifestyle.

I have been working online for over 10 years and it has never been as easy as it is right now to set up an online business I work from home. In the past, you needed a lots of technical knowledge and skills to set up websites and marketing ability to work online. Now there are companies which doodle for you.

The internet has opened up a whole new world of learning, working, socialising and doing business. We no longer need to go back to school or university to learn new skills. We can work from home, start a business or find a new life partner all from the comfort of our home.

At the click of a mouse, you can now find everything from a short instructional video to a full degree course online. If you would like more information on a free course on how to survive and thrive in the digital revolution and discover the truth about making money online, click here.

EU Immigration to UK Tops 2 Million but Care and Nursing Vacancies Unfilled

The number of EU migrants living and working in Britain now exceeds two million, official figures reveal today.

According to the figures, more than a million migrant workers are from eastern European countries, such as Poland, Romania and Bulgaria who migrated to the UK since the EU expanded in 2004.

Combined with non-EU migrants, there are over 3.2 million foreign nationals working in the UK, up by over a quarter of a million in the last year alone.

Official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the total number of foreign nationals working in the UK has increased by 257,000 or 15% over the past year.

One in ten workers are now non-British, compared with one in twenty seven in 1997 when Tony Blair came to power.

There are now 189,000 employees from Bulgaria and Romania, an increase of 19% on a year ago, which coincides with the lifting of restrictions on working in the UK on 1 January last year.

Newest EU entrants from Croatia are also being deterred from coming here by a similar 7 year restrictions on working in the UK.

Croatian citizens need permission to work in Britain, which can take the form of a Tier 2 Work Permit, for instance for a Nurse or Doctor, or a yellow card permit to work whilst studying.

Britain’s growing economy is clearly attracting immigrants according to experts.

Carlos Vargas-Silva, of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said the reason migrants were moving to Britain was because they can easily find jobs.

He said: 'As long as the EU economy remains weak and the UK economy is strong, you are going to see more people come in.'

You don’t need to be an Oxford Professor to work that one out, but Carlos has a point.

Britain’s economy is growing whilst the economies of most EU countries, burdened by the Euro and EU regulations, have been going downhill for years.

This week in Brussels, Prime Minister David Cameron is hoping to come away with a renegotiated deal and prevent an EU exit vote by British voters in a forthcoming referendum vote.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said there were still two million more people in jobs than in 2010.

'On top of that, today's figures show job vacancies at a near record high - evidence of the continued confidence of British businesses, and potential for further growth in the UK economy.

'Our one nation government is helping millions across the country to succeed and achieve their full potential. I was particularly pleased to see that wages are continuing to rise - meaning that hard-working people will see a real difference in their pay packets.'

Unemployment has fallen by 221,000 in the last year, and long-term unemployment has been reduced by 210,000 since 2010.

Despite unemployment figures exceeding 1.8 million, there are 735,000 UK job vacancies, an increase of nearly 70,000 since last year. 

There is an acute shortage of nurses and care workers in the UK, with NHS hospitals and private care homes crying out for staff. 

Currently, my own clients have have hundreds of job vacancies for nursing and care staff all over England and Wales.

Migrant workers are needed to fill the vacancies, as many British workers do not want the jobs. In the last few weeks I have witnessed local workers not even bothering to turn up for interviews.

If you are an overseas nurse or care worker (EU citizens only) and would like to work in the UK, email your CV.