UK PM makes pledge on British expats’ rights
The UK Prime Minister has just announced that the British government will continue pension uprating, payment of disability benefits and healthcare cover after Brexit for British expatriates in the EU.
Speaking in the House of Commons today Theresa May said: “The UK will continue to export and uprate the UK state pension and provide associated healthcare cover within the EU. We will continue to protect the export of other benefits and associated healthcare cover where the individual is in receipt of those benefits on the cut-off date”.
The cut-off date refers to a date, yet to be set, between the article 50 trigger day, March 29, 2017 and the day the UK leaves the EU, which may be March 29, 2019.
She added that subject to negotiation, the UK would like to continue to participate in the European Health Insurance Card scheme so UK cardholders continue having free or reduced cost healthcare on visits to the EU, and vice versa.
The obligations agreed to in the EU withdrawal treaty will bind the UK as a matter of international law, she said. “We will also incorporate the commitments into UK law, guaranteeing we will stand firmly by our part of the deal.” However the UK, as expected, does not wish the European Court of Justice to have continuing jurisdiction in the UK after Brexit.
She also confirmed other elements of the UK's Brexit negotiating position which were broadly as reported in the media over the last few days, with regard to the rights of EU27 citizens in the UK, including 'settled status' for those who have been living in the UK for five years, with the possibility to accrue the five qualifying years for those already in the country at the 'cut-off date'.
Settled status will mean people are "free to reside in any capacity and undertake any lawful activity, to access public funds and services and to apply for British citizenship". More detail can be found here.
One new complication, however, is that the 'settled status' is said to be separate from the EU permanent residence status, so even those who have acquired the latter may still have to reapply.
"Permanent residence status is linked to the UK’s membership of the EU and so will no longer be valid after we leave," the government says. "If you already have a document certifying permanent residence, you will still need to apply for the new settled status document. The application process for people who need to do this will be as streamlined as possible." Exceptions will include people who are applying for UK citizenship.
A settled status document will be obligatory, unlike the current situation of EU27 expats in the UK, where obtaining a permanent residence card is optional (as it is for Britons in the EU). However the UK says the application for this document will be much simpler than the current procedure for permanent residence and such contested matters as a requirement for private health insurance for some groups would be removed. The key factors would be five years of living in the UK, and not being deemed a threat to the country due to 'conduct and criminality'.
The government intends it will be possible to apply for a card proving the status before the UK leaves, however after it leaves there will be a two-year 'grace period' for people to obtain one.
A page here, explains that the UK wishes British citizens in the EU to have at least equivalent rights to those of EU27 citizens in the UK.
UPDATE: Further details of the proposals are now available at this link. It gives additional details, such as the fact that under 'settled status' the UK plans to honour the 'EU pension' entitlements of EU27 citizens in the UK, that is their EU right to have periods worked in other EU countries taken into account by the UK in calculating their UK state pensions. It also states that "the UK will seek to ensure that citizens with professional qualifications obtained in the EU27 prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will continue to have those qualifications recognised in the UK (and vice versa)".
