EU Citizens Future ?

mr_eddy

Related to the other post I wanted to get some specific thoughts on what people think will happen re current EU citizens.

I have a keen interest in this as my fiance (soon to be wife ) came from Slovakia in 2007 and has been here ever since, She technically has ILR as she has been here for 5 years but she is yet to get the stupid card that proves it. She is going to get citizenship soon so she will get the stupid card that proves her ILR and then go ahead with the full application.

My worry is that if her application takes more than 2 years (given the current backlog it could well take this long) what happens if she is still in the process after the 2 year deadline ?

What is the likelyhood of current long standing EU citizens (5+ Years) being required to get some sort of visa to continue to work or having to sacrifice NHS treatments etc ?

My misses has worked since day 1 and has NEVER claimed a single thing in benefits - She has paid NI / Income Tax etc for 10 years and has a degree from the OU - Her current position is Supply Manager at Boots HQ so she has a highly skilled job - It would be a disgrace if she was asked to get some sort of visa to prove her worth ?

Any thoughts on this ?

If its turns out that a VISA is required and it will need renewing etc then both of us will be looking very fondly into the option of moving to Canada in the near future (even if my misses gets the Citizenship done before 2 years).

finchy

Has she passed her Life in the UK pub quiz and English language test? If so, the application won't take 2 years (I think it took 6 months for my wife). Even if it did, leaving the EU shouldn't affect the citizenship application process if she fulfills all the criteria - I don't think there is currently any discrimination between EU and non-EU members.

mr_eddy

She has not yet but first priority is to get the ILR card which she should be applying for within the next few weeks - Our concern is that Ian Duncun Smith told the Guardian that he welcomed the idea of work permits for EU citizens, I believe he was talking about new visitors post brexit but if the government implemented this to new people then others would cry discrimination and then there maybe a possibility of rolling it out to current EU citizens as well. The problem is that we get different answers re the time frame for citizenship application depending on who we ask.

The contact on the GOV website stated over the phone that it current applicants are being told up to 12 months, We also spoke to a specialist immigration lawyer who told us 12-28 months, Add to the fact that the recent surge in applications and the government trying to cut Whitehall spending I am not convinced that it will DEFINITELY be done in less than 2 years.

mr_eddy

Also I believe she is not required to do the English Language test as her OU degree qualifies her for this (confirmed on the GOV website exclusion list) so it will just be the ILR card and the Life in the UK test then the full application.

She is getting her ILR card but is going to wait a little while for the full application as she wants to see what (if any) statements are made by Theresa May within the first few weeks of negotiations.

TheBigBean

Probably not adding any value here, but EU citizens can't get ILR. They get permanent residence instead. I think you need to have had either ILR or PR for at least a year to apply to be naturalised. The naturalisation process is the same for everyone and often your local council has a service to help meaning that you don't need to send the passport.

In terms of PR, it is quite a lot easier and cheaper than ILR. The burden is on the government to disprove everything. It should be quite straightforward provided she has done everything properly over the last 10 years. I met a Polish chap who couldn't get PR because of something he did many years before, but I didn't really understand what that was.

In general though I think that anyone who fulfils the criteria for ILR will be absolutely fine post Brexit. In fact I suspect that most EU citizens will be fine and there will be quick and easy way to get ILR.

mamba80

The danger is, regardless of what happens in your individual case, is that EU citizens wont feel welcome in the UK and those that would have come here, will be put off, most skilled workers can go any where in the world, as you ve hinted at.

Out of interest, how has your missus found post brexit vote UK ?

Ben6899

TheBigBean wrote:

Probably not adding any value here, but EU citizens can't get ILR. They get permanent residence instead. I think you need to have had either ILR or PR for at least a year to apply to be naturalised...

This is correct. My better half has just gone through the process. Here ~10years, Permanent Residency, then a year later went through the naturalization process.

A tip for your missus. There are many hoops and much paperwork to get through for the PR card. When she digs out all her P60s, payslips etc for completing the application... keep it all somewhere safe and easy to find again a year down the line. Because she'll be asked the same questions in the naturalisation paperwork.

Best of luck! A couple of posters 'round these parts won't be as helpful, but luckily their posting frequency has decreased just lately.