There are fears in Brussels that the UK immigration system will be unable to define who has the right to stay and who must leave when Brexit finally bites.  There is no means of tracking EU nationals when they enter or leave the UK.  There is a very real fear that EU nationals living in the UK legally will be left in a chaotic no man's land as for some people there will be no way of demonstrating the validity of their right to live in the UK.

The British Home Office does not have the systems nor the information to be able to determine which of the 3.3 million EU citizens that are currently residing in the UK, are legally entitled to remain.  The majority of the British people believe that EU nationals living in the UK should be given the automatic right to remain and the present situation is creating considerable anxiety amongst the European citizens in Britain.

It is imperative that a solution is found sooner rather than later before individuals try to resolve the problem themselves.  Should all 3.3 million European citizens currently resident in the UK decide to attempt to prove the "exercise of treaty rights" to secure their position the Home Office would no doubt buckle under the workload. 

The situation is compounded by the fact that there is simply no straightforward way of obtaining the information that will be required to define who can and cannot remain in the UK.  The extensive databases of the Department for Work and Pensions and those of HM Revenue and Customs and the Home Office do not share information.  Access to the national insurance system will help define who was in the country prior to the Brexit decision but that would not include those who do not work or claim benefits.  Also, using the national insurance system to pinpoint EU citizens in the UK and granting them the right to remain would not be a good thing as it would include people who have already left the UK and potentially the right to stay in the UK could be granted to thousands of people who came briefly to the UK and are no longer here.  Furthermore, it would not address the issue of dependents and family members who have the right to join their relatives in the UK.

With some justification senior European figures and MEPs are concerned that the whole situation will descend into disarray.  Theresa May has stressed the need for the question of EU citizens' rights to be dealt with as quickly as possible during her talks with the French but faces criticism for failing to give assurances with regard to the rights of EU citizens.  The Opposition party has campaigned for the Government to take decisive action to end the uncertainty.  So far the Government has not explained how the necessary information will be obtained to ensure that the position of EU nationals living and working in the UK will be protected.  However the Government has issued a statement: "European citizens resident in the UK make a vital contribution both to our economy and our society. That's why we will be making the securing their status, as well as that of British nationals in the EU, a priority as soon as we trigger Article 50 and the negotiations begin".

It will be no surprise to learn that many employers are urging their European staff to obtain permanent residency cards to enable them to continue working in the UK, which, in turn, has led to a 50% increase in applications for permanent residency in the UK since the Brexit vote.  However this arduous procedure, which requires an 85 page form to be completed together with compiling a huge amount of supporting documentation including five year's worth of P60s, previous utility bills and an account of each occasion the individual has left the country since arriving in the UK, has resulted in some EU citizens receiving letters informing that that they must leave the country after a box has not been ticked due to an oversight on the part of the applicant.

There are debates scheduled to discuss the issue in both the UK and European parliaments.  This is a crucial issue and must be satisfactorily settled for the sake of the individuals, businesses and countries concerned.

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