I am a UK citizen. What do I need to do to continue living in 2021 and beyond in Spain / France / Germany / Greece / Bulgaria / Ireland/ Netherlands / Cyprus / Poland / Belgium / Sweden / Denmark / Portugal?
Member States have prepared or adopted national contingency measures to ensure that UK nationals and their non-EU family members could remain legally resident in the immediate period after a no-deal withdrawal.
Spain
Spain will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable for a 21 months grace period starting on the day of withdrawal with no agreement. You will need to have a residence document to prove these rights after the grade period.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until the end of the 21 months grace period. By this moment, you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the specific ad hoc regime approved. In this specific case, your registration certificate will automatically be replaced by a residence document for third country nationals at the policia nacional offices.
b) If you do not have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible as from the day after of a no deal withdrawal with the Oficinas de Extranjería (Inmigration offices) For information on the application process, please visit this website: https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/brexit/Paginas/index.aspx and http://www.mitramiss.gob.es/es/brexit/index.htm
c) You will NOT receive a letter from the national administration informing on your situation. This letter will NOT be considered as your temporary residence permit. During this transitional period of 21 month starting the day after a no deal withdrawal you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the new specific rules that have been already published in the Spanish official diary. See: https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rdl/2019/03/01/5/dof/spa/pdf AND https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2019/03/26/pdfs/BOE-A-2019-4356.pdf
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France
France will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until one year from the date of withdrawal of the United Kingdom. You will need to have a residence document to prove these rights.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until one year from the date of withdrawal of the United Kingdom. Within six months from the date of withdrawal of the United Kingdom, you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the new specific rules that will be in place by that time.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible from the date of withdrawal of the United Kingdom and during six months. The possibility of doing these applications online is currently envisaged in order to facilitate the process. For information on the application process, please visit the website https://brexit.gouv.fr/sites/brexit/accueil/vous-etes-britannique/droit-au-sejour.html.
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Germany
Germany will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable for nine months after Brexit date
a) During this transitional period, you will have to apply for a residence permit, according to the applicable immigration rules for residence of third country nationals that will be partially adapted to the specific situation.
Applications are possible during the transitional period with the relevant foreigners’ authorities in the federal states. For finding the responsible foreigners authority, please visit this website https://www.bamf.de/SiteGlobals/Functions/WebGIS/EN/WebGIS_Auslaenderbehoerde.html
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Greece
Greece will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until 31/12/2020. You will need to have a residence document to prove these rights.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until 31/12/2020. During this transitional period, you will have to apply for a new residence document, according to the applicable immigration rules for residence of third country nationals and new specific rules that are in place.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence document. Applications are possible as from the withdrawal date (any change will officially be announced) with the competent police authorities handling issued of aliens of your home area. For information on the application process, please visit the website www.astynomia.gr.
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Bulgaria
Bulgaria will protect your residence rights through a national procedure for re-registration. You are eligible to apply under the scheme if you are legally residing in Bulgaria on the date of Brexit.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until 31 December 2020 or the date written on the document if it is before 31 December 2020. During this transitional period – After Brexit day – you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the new specific rules that will be in place on Brexit day.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible as from the day following the date of Brexit with the national Ministry of Interior. For information on the application process, please visit this websiteL https://www.mvr.bg/en/about-the-ministry/brexit/information-about-brexit
c) On filing your application you will receive a temporary permit valid for one month until the formal procedure is complete. During this transitional period/After Brexit, you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the new rules.
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Ireland
All UK nationals have a right under the Common Travel Area to live in Ireland.
You do not need to take any action to continue to live in Ireland after the Brexit date.
What will my rights be?
Under the Common Travel Area (CTA), British citizens can move freely to, and reside in, Ireland and can enjoy associated rights and privileges including access to employment, healthcare, education, social benefits, and the right to vote in certain elections.
The Government of Ireland and the UK Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 8 May 2019, reaffirming their commitment to maintaining the CTA in all circumstances.
More details can be found here: https://www.dfa.ie/brexit/getting-ireland-brexit-ready/brexit-and-you/common-travel-area/
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Netherlands
The Netherlands will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable after a no deal Brexit during a transition period. During this transition period, UK nationals will keep their rights to reside, work and study in the Netherlands. This also applies if you are the relative of a UK national and are not an EU citizen yourself. Before the Brexit date, the IND will send you a temporary residence permit in the form of a letter. Many of you have already received this important document. The letter in combination with a valid passport will serve as proof of your residency rights during a no deal transition period. You do not need to take any action yourself to obtain this letter, other than to ensure you are correctly registered in the Personal Records Database (BRP) at your municipality: the letter will be sent to the address at which you are registered.
During the transition period, you will be invited to apply for a new residence permit, according to the applicable legal residence rules for EU citizens.
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Cyprus
Cyprus will protect your residence rights, and those of your family, through specific legislative measures that have been adopted and will apply in case of a “no-deal” Brexit (Law N121(I)/2019). You will need to hold valid residence documents to prove these rights.
Step 1: Between now and 31/12/2020
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU freedom of movement rules (MEU1, MEU2, MEU3), this will be considered as your temporary residence permit, valid until 31/12/2020. After 31/12/2020, you will need to apply for the new type of residence permit, according to the provisions of national law N121(I)/2019 (see Step 2 below).
b) If you do not have a residence document as above, we recommend that you apply for one as soon as possible, under current EU rules. Provided you will have been residing in Cyprus up until 31/10/2019, you will still be able to apply after this date, up until 31/12/2020; however, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. You will receive a residence permit under EU law. This will be considered as your temporary residence permit, valid until 31/12/2020. After 31/12/2020, you will need to apply for the new type of residence permit, according to the provisions of national law N121(I)/2019 (see Step 2 below).
Applications by UK nationals legally residing in Cyprus prior to 31/10/2019 can be submitted at the Civil Registry and Migration Department, or the Local Immigration Offices. For information on the application process, please visit the website www.moi.gov.cy/crmd.
Step 2: After 31/12/2020
c) As of 1/1/2021, you will need to apply for the new type of residence permit as set out in Law N121(I)/2019.
In applying for this document, if you hold a valid residence document issued under EU rules as per (a) or (b) above, you will only need to further submit a valid passport as proof of identity.
If you do not hold such documents as specified in (a) or (b) above, you will be required to submit documentary evidence of your residence in Cyprus prior to 31/10/2019.
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Poland
Poland will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until 31/12/2020. Your stay in Poland will be considered legal ex lege from the withdrawal date until 31.12.2020 provided that you enjoyed the right of residence or the right of permanent residence in Poland under the Directive 2004/38/EC before the withdrawal date. However, it will be useful to have a residence document to prove these rights.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, with an exception of certificate of registration, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until 31/ 12/2020. These documents may remain valid after the date until 30.09.2021 at the latest only on Polish territory for evidence purposes. During this transitional period, you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the new specific rules that will be in place by that time. A stamp imprint annotated “BREXIT” made in the travel document, confirming submission of an application for a dedicated temporary or permanent residence permit along with a separate certificate with a one year validity period will be considered as your temporary residence permit until the final decision on the application.
If you were granted permanent residence permit (with unlimited validity) before the accession of the Republic of Poland to the European Union you will retain this right. You will not need to apply for residence permit. Application for renewal of the residence card (issued for 10 years) may only be needed.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible as from day of Brexit with the voivode competent with respect of the place of stay in Poland. A stamp imprint annotated “BREXIT” made in the travel document, confirming submission of an application for a dedicated temporary or permanent residence permit along with a separate certificate with a one year validity period will be considered as your temporary residence permit until the final decision on the application.
For information on the application process, please visit this website https://udsc.gov.pl/en/cudzoziemcy/brexit/materials-to-download
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Belgium
Belgium will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until 31 December 2020. You will need to have a residence document to prove these rights.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until 31 December 2020. After 31 December 2020, you will have to apply for a new residence permit. A decision has not yet been taken whether you will have to apply for a new residence permit, according to the applicable immigration rules for residence of third country nationals or according to new specific rules that will be in place by that time.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible as from the Brexit date. For information on the application process, please visit this website http://dofi.ibz.be.
c) You will be kept informed by the Immigration Office on your situation.
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Sweden
Sweden will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable from the date of the withdrawal and for one year after the withdrawal. During this transitional period, you will have to apply for a residence permit or a long-term residence status, according to the Swedish Alien Act. You can already now apply for a residence permit at the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). For information on the application process, please visit this website www.migrationsverket.se
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Denmark
Denmark will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until replaced by a permanent solution.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until otherwise is decided.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you are encouraged to submit an application for such documentation before the withdrawal date in order to be able to prove your rights. For information on the application process, please visit this website https://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/You-want-to-apply/Residence-as-a-Nordic-citizen-or-EU-or-EEA-citizen
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Portugal
Portugal will protect your residence rights through transitional measures that will be applicable until 31/12/2020. Your residence document is needed to prove these rights. Otherwise, a requirement procedure will be open to prove your residence.
a) If you already have a residence document issued under EU free movement law, this will be considered as your temporary residence permit until 31/12/2020. During this transitional period.
b) If you do not have a residence document, you will have to apply for a residence permit. Applications are possible as from withdrawal date with the local authority. For information on the application process, please visit this website www.sef.pt
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