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That's the correct document, but I don't think your interpretation makes sense. The "settled status" scheme is already in place for EEA citizens, and this is no

That's the correct document, but I don't think your interpretation makes sense. The "settled status" scheme is already in place for EEA citizens, and this is not the "temporary transitional arrangements" being referred to in that paragraph. This section of the document is about "ending free movement," and free movement is the thing to which "temporary transitional arrangements" will apply. This is supported by earlier statements from the former Home Secretary Said Javid: "If there's a no-deal, we won’t be able to immediately distinguish between those Europeans that were already here before March 29, and those who came after – and therefore, as a result, I wouldn’t expect employers to do anything different than they do today. There will need to be some kind of sensible transition period. I mean, these are the kinds of things I’ve been working on for months and months."

mytailorisrich 7y ago
It's not my interpretation. It's is plainly written: freedom of movement ends. Now, some people assume that this means EU citizens are immediately kicked out. That's obviously not the case, hence this "transitional period".
- matthewmacleod 7y ago
  I appreciate you have taken that impression, but you're missing the important point that this is a change in policy. The policy document says that "freedom of movement" ends – you are correct that it is written plainly, and it is technically correct - freedom of movement rights under EU law will end. However, the position of the previous government was that EEA citizens would be able to continue to freely enter the UK for the transitional period—even if no deal was secured—up until December 2020. That means that while "freedom of movement" as an EU-granted right would end, there would still be effective "freedom of movement" into the UK for EU workers, explicitly because there will be no system in place to differentiate between UK-resident and non-UK-resident EU citizens at the border. The transitional period applies to immigration into the UK while the new "skills-based immigration system" is implemented. You can see this from the policy document: "The details of the UK’s future skills-based immigration system are set out in a white paper published on 19 December 2018. It will take some time to implement this new system… therefore, temporary transitional arrangements will apply from 31 October 2019… The transition period will be in place until 31 December 2020." The paragraph immediately above says: "The information below is concerned with those EU citizens who arrive in the UK after exit, not those residing here before the UK withdraws from the EU." This is explicitly not to do with EU citizens who are already resident in the UK.
  - mytailorisrich 7y ago
    So now we agree that freedom of movement will immediately end, as always expected. Nothing in what they have just said implies that the "temporary transitional arrangements" will no longer exist. The only worry, which is real, is that the government may not have time to set them up. I don't see that as a change of policy, more like posturing by the government before a new negotiation push, and over the top reaction from the opposition.

mytailorisrich 7y ago

It's not my interpretation. It's is plainly written: freedom of movement ends. Now, some people assume that this means EU citizens are immediately kicked out. That's obviously not the case, hence this "transitional period".

matthewmacleod 7y ago
I appreciate you have taken that impression, but you're missing the important point that this is a change in policy. The policy document says that "freedom of movement" ends – you are correct that it is written plainly, and it is technically correct - freedom of movement rights under EU law will end. However, the position of the previous government was that EEA citizens would be able to continue to freely enter the UK for the transitional period—even if no deal was secured—up until December 2020. That means that while "freedom of movement" as an EU-granted right would end, there would still be effective "freedom of movement" into the UK for EU workers, explicitly because there will be no system in place to differentiate between UK-resident and non-UK-resident EU citizens at the border. The transitional period applies to immigration into the UK while the new "skills-based immigration system" is implemented. You can see this from the policy document: "The details of the UK’s future skills-based immigration system are set out in a white paper published on 19 December 2018. It will take some time to implement this new system… therefore, temporary transitional arrangements will apply from 31 October 2019… The transition period will be in place until 31 December 2020." The paragraph immediately above says: "The information below is concerned with those EU citizens who arrive in the UK after exit, not those residing here before the UK withdraws from the EU." This is explicitly not to do with EU citizens who are already resident in the UK.
- mytailorisrich 7y ago
  So now we agree that freedom of movement will immediately end, as always expected. Nothing in what they have just said implies that the "temporary transitional arrangements" will no longer exist. The only worry, which is real, is that the government may not have time to set them up. I don't see that as a change of policy, more like posturing by the government before a new negotiation push, and over the top reaction from the opposition.