The UK will leave EU on 29 March 2019 and implementation period is planned to run until 31 December 2020 during which current rules will continue to apply. During that time, EU citizens will be able to enter and reside under the terms of the UK Regulations which implement the current, pre-Exit rules.
EU citizens and their family members who wish to remain in the UK after the end of the Implementation Period must apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. They have until June 2021 to do so, if the Implementation Period ends on 31 December 2020.
After the UK’s exit and following the Implementation Period, the current free movement system will end, and the UK Immigration Rules will apply to EU and non-EU migrants alike in a single skills-based system. The UK Government has published a long-awaited white paper on post Brexit immigration. Here is how the system will work.
The much-delayed White Paper – a document setting out proposed new laws before they are formalised in a government bill – includes:
- Scrapping the current cap on the number of skilled workers such as doctors or engineers from the EU and elsewhere
- Skilled workers will have to secure a job offer before they arrive and have to have a minimum qualification of A-Level or above. There will be no cap on the number of people coming to the UK via this route, but ministers have launched a consultation to decide whether they should have to earn more than £30,000 in order to apply
- Abolishing Resident Labour Market Test
- Low-skilled workers may be able to apply for short-term visas of up to a year
- Those coming to the UK from the EU will be free to visit for up to six months without requiring a visa, although they will need an online document to prove they have the right to travel
- Skilled workers from all over the world will be able to apply for a visa to work in the UK and there will be no cap on the number of people allowed to come.
- Post study work of 6 months for Master’s and Bachelor degree student, 1 years for PhD students