Brexit and travel between UK and EU
Let’s start by saying this is relevant advice now but things might change. This is the Brexit saga, after all.
Many firms we work with have people moving between countries, either permanently or for a fixed period of time or just for business visits. We all have many concerns about how this will change if and when the UK leaves the EU – whether there’s a deal or not and whether this happens on 1st November or later.
So here’s some helpful advice. We’re focusing on potential risks for people moving around because you don’t want the hassle and heartache of travel from your current home to your country of origin and back again being disrupted.
EU citizen in the UK
If you’re an EU citizen and currently live in the UK, you should apply for Settled Status. It’s free to apply and the deadline is the end of 2020, although frankly the sooner the better – less potential risk for you when you travel away from the UK and return, for a start.
Here’s a link for more information and to apply: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families. This site also has incredibly useful information https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/staying-in-the-uk-after-brexit/applying-for-settled-status/.
You can do this on an Android phone but not on an iPhone. (I know – we rolled our eyes too.) It should be possible to use an iPhone for this soon though.
If you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years – or 3 years if you’re married to, or in a civil partnership with, a UK citizen - then you can apply for UK citizenship. This is a longer process and costs more than ￡1,000. Here’s a link https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/citizenship.
Not sure if you’re staying in the UK but maybe coming back later?
What about EU people who are living and working in the UK for a while, but not sure if they plan to stay – for example, they might leave the UK but maybe return in the future?
You can apply for Settled Status and that’s the advice from Coadec (Coalition for a Digital Economy) https://coadec.com/ which acts as a policy voice for tech start-ups. The key reason is that you can leave the UK for up to 5 years and return, once you have Settled Status. Without it, you will only be able to spend 2 years outside the UK.
UK citizen in the EU
This depends where you are and you need to contact your local government office. If you’re planning to move any UK employees to EU countries, you need to check this and think carefully before you go ahead.
Non-UK graduates in the UK
The Government is now saying that in 2020, all international graduates will have a two-year visa to work in the UK. This returns the situation to the visas issued until 2012 when it was reduced to four months.
As things change and develop, we’ll add updates. We're also writing blogs with advice about other areas to consider, including how people with physical or mental health issues in your workplace might be affected by disruption to their access to medications if there's a no deal Brexit https://www.quickhr.biz/people-on-medications-brexit-worries/.