Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Inglewood on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to preserve UK citizens’ legal right to live in and travel freely across Europe following Brexit.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of UK nationals already living in mainland Europe, and that of EU nationals already living here. The only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU member states were not protected in return. UK nationals that have lived lawfully and continuously for a period of 5 years in a given EU Member State will automatically have a permanent right to reside there.

The reciprocal rights and entitlements that will apply following the UK’s exit are subject to the wider negotiation on our future relationship with the EU. We have not yet begun these negotiations, so it is not possible to set out any positions in advance. However, at every step of this negotiation we will seek to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people, at home and overseas.