All Articles: EU Free Movement
Parliamentary report recommends continuation of EU law for existing residents
Following hot on the heels of the hardline British Future report on the rights of EU nationals in the UK after Brexit, the House of Lords EU Justice Committee has today published a report on the same subject. It is a far more comprehensive and compreh ...
14th December 2016Report recommends cut off date for new arrivals from EU
A hardline report chaired by prominent Leave campaigner Gisela Stewart into the status of EU nationals in the UK has recommended a cut off date for new arrivals from the EU, likely to be April 2017, and a massive registration programme for existing E ...
12th December 2016After a hard BREXIT: British citizens and residence in the EU
After a hard BREXIT: British citizens and residence in the EU By Elspeth Guild, Kingsley Napley, Steve Peers, University of Essex and Jonathan Kingham, LexisNexis, 3 November 2016 Introduction The purpose of this briefing note is to outline what a so- ...
9th November 2016New Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 laid
New Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 were laid today, coming into force mainly from 1 February 2017. The new version is mainly a consolidating exercise — the 2006 regulations has been amended and reamended over and over agai ...
3rd November 2016Brexit Q&A podcast: your questions answered
Many thanks to everyone who recorded and sent in questions for the Brexit podcast. I have not been able to answer all the questions that were submitted but I have selected a few that I think are of general interest as a way of addressing some of ...
22nd October 2016Part time working, low earnings, employment and self employment in EU law
To acquire EU rights of residence and ultimately permanent residence, a person usually has to engage in certain activities: employment, self employment, study or being self sufficient. There are other criteria as well, but these are the four key ways ...
13th October 2016Home Office confirms that official EEA series application forms are not mandatory
In a useful policy document explaining internal processes within the UK Visas and Immigration department of the Home Office, it is confirmed that applicants for EU free movement documents such as residence certificates and residence cards do NOT have ...
12th October 2016EU nationals must apply for permanent residence card for British nationality applications
The British Nationality Act 1981 requires a successful applicant for British citizenship to show, amongst other things, that he or she is free from immigration restrictions. Technically, the requirement is set out in paragraph 2(c) of Schedule 1 to th ...
10th October 2016Online EEA permanent residence and European passport return service now available
The Home Office has quietly and with no fanfare launched online residence certificate and permanent residence certificate application processes and accompanying European passport return service. I have put together a 20 minute video walk through of wh ...
4th October 2016EU derived rights of residence not automatically lost if crime is committed
In two linked cases, CS v UK C-304/14 and Marin v Spain C-165/14, the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Zambrano-like derived rights of residence under EU law are not automatically lost if a crime is committed. Instead, each case m ...
3rd October 2016Worker status, unemployment and genuine prospects of finding work in EU law
Two recent cases in the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal have clarified when a worker might in EU law retain his or her status as a worker during a period of unemployment. The cases are KS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ...
26th September 2016Home Office launches online EU applications and passport return service
UPDATE: Beta version of online service now available here. A series of pages have appeared on the Governments official gov.uk website suggesting that the Home Office will be launching a new online application process for EEA nationals on 1 October 20 ...
21st September 2016No right of appeal against refusals for extended family members rules tribunal
In the case of Sala (EFMs: Right of Appeal : Albania) [2016] UKUT 411 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal has ruled that there is no right of appeal against a decision by the Home Office to refuse a residence card to a person claiming to be an extended ...
21st September 2016Home Office testing online fast track applications for EU nationals
The Home Office is reported to be testing a new online fast track application process for EU migrants in the UK. The Financial Times first carried the story but it was also picked up and confirmed by The Guardian. In summary, the new fast track applic ...
5th September 2016What does Brexit Minister David Davis think about free movement?
Conveniently, David Davis MP, our new Minister for Brexit, made a detailed speech and wrote a detailed article on the subject of free movement and negotiations with the EU. From these we can see quite quickly that he does not like free movement. Of p ...
13th July 2016Brexit: What should EEA and EU nationals and their family members do now?
On 24 June 2016 the right to live in the United Kingdom for over 3 million people of its people was suddenly cast into doubt. If generous provision is not made for them we are looking at the biggest mass expulsion of population since 1290, when Edward ...
12th July 2016CJEU judgment on domestic violence victims: NA C-115/15
Last week the Court of Justice of the European Union gave judgment in the case of NA C-115/15 on the vexed issue of retained rights of residence for victims of domestic violence. It is hard to care given the result of the Brexit referendum but it is ...
6th July 2016Worker Registration Scheme causing problems with British citizenship for some children
Some worrying news from The Guardian: UK citizenship has been given to the children of eastern Europeans living in Britain without the proper paperwork, the Guardian has learned. The affected families come from countries including Poland and the Czech ...
1st July 2016What was said in Parliament about the status of EU nationals in the UK?
First of all, as I have written previously, it seems highly likely that those EU nationals and their families currently resident in the UK will be allowed to remain. We do not know on what basis but it nevertheless seems highly likely. There are very ...
30th June 2016Brexit Ground Zero: what now?
The people of what is currently the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union. What happens now? Here I am going to take a quick look at the immediate consequences for EU nationals living in the UK. In short, there are no immediate legal c ...
24th June 2016Brexit briefing: Relationship between ECHR and EU
The relationship between the ECHR and the EU By Nuala Mole, Senior Lawyer, The AIRE Centre, 9 June 2016 Introduction The European Union (EU) is a Union of 28 states. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation with 47 Member States, 28 ...
13th June 2016Brexit briefing: The implications for Scotland
The implications for Scotland of a vote in the EU referendum for the UK to leave the EU By Sarah Craig, Maria Fletcher and Nina Miller-Westoby, School of Law, University of Glasgow, 1 June 2016 Introduction One view of the relevant EU and UK law sugge ...
10th June 2016Brexit and Borders: Schengen, Frontex and the UK
The EU’s Borders: Schengen, Frontex and the UK By Bernard Ryan, Professor of Law, University of Leicester, 19 May 2016 Introduction This paper is concerned with the relationship of the UK to the framework of immigration control at EU borders. That f ...
8th June 2016Brexit and the Common European Asylum System
The UK Referendum on the EU and the Common European Asylum System By Elspeth Guild, Partner, Kingsley Napley, 29 April 2016 Introduction The issues of refugees’ arrival, reception and protection have been particularly evident in the political debate ...
7th June 2016Impact of Brexit: what would happen if the UK left the EU?
The Impact of Brexit By Steve Peers, University of Essex, 17 May 2016 Introduction What would happen if the UK left the EU? In each case, that would depend on what the UK and EU negotiated afterward. But it is possible to give some general indication ...
6th June 2016Brexit briefing: impact on Common Travel Area and the Irish
The implications of UK withdrawal for immigration policy and nationality law: Irish aspects By Bernard Ryan, Professor of Law, University of Leicester, 18 May 2016 Introduction This paper addresses the Irish dimensions to a UK decision to withdraw fro ...
5th June 2016Brexit briefing: EU free movement and criminal law
Free Movement and Criminal Law By Valsamis Mitsilegas, Queen Mary University of London 18 May 2016 Introduction One of the claims frequently made by critics of freedom of movement is that free movement of EU citizens is unlimited, even when these citi ...
3rd June 2016Brexit briefing: EU citizens’ access to benefits
EU Citizens’ Access to Welfare Benefits: Past, Present and Future By Desmond Rutledge, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers 13 May 2016 Introduction Since the UK joined what is now called the European Union (EU), migrant workers, who are nationals of ot ...
2nd June 2016Brexit Briefing: EU free movement in practice at home and abroad
EU free movement in practice at home and abroad By Matthew Evans, Director, The AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe), 10 May 2016 Introduction ...
1st June 2016Brexit briefing: rights of entry and residence
Rights of Entry and Residence By Steve Peers, University of Essex, 17 May 2016 Introduction The free movement of EU citizens to the UK (and vice versa) is a key feature of the UK’s EU membership. However, it is too simple to describe this as a ‘lo ...
31st May 2016