Read the 4th point fully.
> 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.
> 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.
People would have a permanent residence certificate will have something to show.
But the important point is the question I asked: have they suggested that a visa will be required to enter the country?
My understanding is that visa-free travel will continue so it should not really matter whether you can prove status.
They haven't. They are just saying that the free movement will end, meaning that as an EU citizen you don't have the automatic right to enter the UK....but no alternative was offered. EU citizens are inelligable for all UK visas right now anyway, because they are specifically worded in such a way and would need to be changed.
>>I am talking about the existing permanent resident status under EU law.
And this might be strange to some, but you can be totally elligable for the full settled status but not for the permanent residence card(I was in this exact situation - I have lived in the UK for 8 years, but the first 4 "don't count" towards the permanent residence status because I was a student without private health insurance(which was only added as a requirement after I started my studies) - but I still got the full Settled Status because that doesn't care why you were here, only if you lived here 5 years or more).
>>My understanding is that visa-free travel will continue so it should not really matter whether you can prove status.
Which again is an issue, because it might mean that legally you don't have the right to be here at all, it's just that the border controls are letting it slide for a while until some other system is put in place. Which causes a whole set of other issues, like this time not counting towards any citizenship application(or making it impossible in the first place, since you are here "illegally"), being unable to rent a place or use the NHS.
Anyway, I think this is a storm in a teacup. In the circumstances EU citizens woild just be waved in as they are now until the dust settles and proper procedures are in place.
That wouldn't mean EU citizens would be here illegally either.
I have exactly ZERO trust that this is the interpretation that the government will take.
When I first tried applying for the permanent residence card, I was told that according to the home office
1) As an EU citizen you need to be exercising your "EU free movement rights" to be in the UK legally
2) If you are a student without private health insurance, you are not exercising your "EU free movement rights"
3) I spoke with multiple Home Office agents, some saying that it means that a student without private health insurance is here illegaly, others saying that no, an EU student without private health insurance is here legally, they are "just not exercising their EU free movement rights". No, they weren't able to explain what exactly they mean by that or which legislation says so.
This strikes me as the exact same situation. No, you don't have the right to be here, but at the same time, you do, but no, we can't point you to any law that would say so.
But if you do not have health insurance this does not count towards gaining permanent residence (and thus citizenship thereafter).
If you need legal advice you should talk to a solicitor specialised in immigration law, not to a random person in a call centre.
And besides, it's just not some random people in the call centre - Home Office's own website said that you only reside in the UK legally if you are exercising your free movement rights - I mean, that clearly reads to me as "if you don't, you are here illegally". It can't work both ways.
No, you need to meet additional criteria. This is explicit in EU law [1] (and very well covered online), so I'm puzzled as to the advice you received.
Since you were looking for a legal references regarding students, note that [1] is also explicit that students should have "comprehensive sickness insurance cover" (the dispute here is whether access to NHS qualifies. UK government argues that it does not).
[1] Article 7 of https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A...
The right to permanent residence after five years is then restricted to "Union citizens and their family members who have resided in the host Member State in compliance with the conditions laid down in this Directive during a continuous period of five years". So it depends heavily on how those conditions are interpreted.
edit: the Italian SSN (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) was basically modeled on the NHS.
As I understand it, that was always a requirement due to the wording of the treaties (or regulations / directives).
It is just that UK government hadn't previously highlighted that they viewed NHS entitlement as not counting as "medical insurance".
There is supposed to be an ongoing dispute with the Commission over this point.
See here and links from it: https://www.freemovement.org.uk/comprehensive-sickness-insur...
"If your application is successful, a letter will be emailed to you confirming your settled or pre-settled status. The letter you get from the Home Office which confirms your status will include a link to an online service. You can use this service to view and prove your status."
This is more about proving your status to employers and such. Border agents will, presumably, be able to see your status electronically through their own system.
However, like other countries that do not need a visa to visit the UK, border agents could still refuse entry if they believe (for example) you intend to seek work rather than just visit.
They said EU citizens in the UK are welcome to stay and EU tourists will be welcome without visas, which is common sense, really.
Therefore I don't see the need to scare everyone. There are not going to start denying entry to EU citizens.
And I write this as an EU citizen in the UK.
However, in many cases the panic already exists, in no small part because the people running the UK refuse to be held to their own previous promises, even when it comes to what they want from Brexit.
Then you’ll be clearly surprised if you knew what all they can access crossing the border.
My comment was based on personal experience of going through secondary inspection with border agents in various countries. All of the FVEY countries share a frightening amount of information with each other’s border agents. I’m not specifically claiming they have medical records, but literally anything that is in a government database (I’m not being hyperbolic there, just prefer not to be specific as to what I’ve been shown on their screen that I felt they had no right to know) is accessible to them if the agent wants and knows how.