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REMINDER: What the Brexit Withdrawl Agreement means for British citizens in Germany

The UK and EU announced on Thursday morning that they have agreed on a deal for Britain's exit from the EU. Here's what it means for Brits in Germany.

Published: 16 October 2019 16:35 CEST
Updated: 17 October 2019 12:57 CEST
REMINDER: What the Brexit Withdrawl Agreement means for British citizens in Germany
An anti-Brexit campaigner. Photo: DPA
On Thursday the UK and EU announced they had agreed on a deal.

Britain's exit from the EU on October 31st with a deal now looks a lot more likely there are still some hurdles to overcome – the European Council has to endorse the deal and British MPs have to approve it, which proved the sticking point for previous Prime Minister Theresa May.

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So while nothing has been given the green light by the British parliament it's important to remember that the Citizens Rights part of the deal – the 50-odd page section that formed PART TWO of the Withdrawal Agreement – remains unchanged from when it was thrashed out a year ago.

So while we wait to see what will happen next, we have an idea of what's in store for Brits in Germany.

And the good news is that the transition period, which basically keeps relations between the EU and the UK as they are now will immediately kick in when the UK leaves and run until December 2020. However it could be extended by one or two years if agreed by both sides, the EUs Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said.

So people who want to move to an EU country but have not made the move yet can come here on the same terms as before until the end of December 2020 (or the end of the agreed transition period). And Brits who want to move from one EU country to another can also do so as they would have done if they were EU citizens until the end of 2020.

This contrasts with a no-deal scenario when all such rights would end on Brexit day. 

Here's a quick recap of what the Brexit deal will mean for British residents in Germany.

  • If you are legally resident in an EU country then you will have the right to stay, albeit you will have to apply to authorities in order to secure this status.
  • The right to stay is not only guaranteed for those already living in the EU on Brexit day, but also those who come to the EU before the end of the transition period, which currently is 31st December 2020. Although there is a chance that the transition period could be extended even further. It was initially intended as a 21-month window in which the UK could organize bilateral deals or with the EU as a whole, but repeated Brexit delays mean it is now just over a year.
  • Under the Withdrawal Agreement Brits will only lose those rights if they spend five continuous years away from the EU country they are living in.

READ ALSO: The ultimate Brexit checklist for Brits in Germany

  • The current EU laws on the right of residence will apply meaning Brits in the EU are not obliged to meet any conditions for the first three months of their stay, but after that they must be working or self-employed, self-sufficient or a student. Alternatively they can be a family member of someone who meets these conditions.
  • Aggregation of social security contributions is agreed.
  • After five years of meeting these conditions then you will earn the right to stay permanently. Anyone with less than five years residence under their belts by the end of the transition period will be allowed to stay on under the same conditions until they can claim permanent residency. 
  • Britons in the EU will enjoy the continued right to reciprocal healthcare. So those pensioners who have cover under the S1 scheme or will be eligible for one when they retire will continue to have their healthcare funded by the UK. For British workers in EU countries who pay into the national health scheme then, the rules will remain as they are now. 
  • EHIC health cards will also continue to cover travel across the EU during the transition period. What happens with them afterwards would be part of any future deals between Britain and EU countries.
  • Pensions will be uprated – meaning your UK state pension will be increased annually as it has been for those living in the UK or in the EU up to now and this continues for your lifetime.
  • Disability benefits will also be “exported” as they are now.
  • Frontier workers who live in one country and work in another will have the right to continue to work in each country.
  • Close family members including spouses, civil partners and dependent children will be able to join you living in an EU country if you are legally resident. British in Europe points out that: “This will apply for the whole of your lifetime. If you have children after the effective date they also are protected under the withdrawal agreement if you and the other parent are also protected or a national of the country you live in.”
  • The issue of qualifications being recognized in a country under a Brexit deal is one of the more confusing aspects of the Citizens Rights part of the WA. British in Europe sum it up by saying: “There is some agreement on recognition of professional qualifications – if you have an individual recognition decision re your qualification including through automatic recognition e.g. doctors, architects, your qualification will continue to be recognised but only in the country where the decision was issued.”

Citizens rights group British in Europe said of the deal when Theresa May first agreed it: “It's reasonable to say that for those who are happily settled in their country of residence, work solely in that country, have retired there or are pre-retired, have no wish or need to move to or work or study in another EU country, fulfill all the requirements for exercising treaty rights and don't rely on professional qualifications, then your rights should be covered.”

But it's not all plain sailing.

  • UK nationals living in Germany will need to apply for a residence permit from their local foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) and this applies whether the UK leaves the EU with or without a deal. You must hold a valid passport when applying for the permit. Some foreigners authorities have already published information or are planning a procedure for voluntary registration/application before the UK’s exit from the EU. In the event of a deal, Brits will likely have until the end of any transition period (and possibly longer) to apply for a permit. In future it probably means criminal checks will be carried out on applicants as well as checks to make sure they meet the requirements legal residence. That might be a problem if residents don't have the resources to prove they are self-sufficient

SEE ALSO: BREXIT: What complications do Brits face in obtaining residency permits?

  • Freedom of movement ends once the UK leaves the EU, so as well as affecting people who arrive after the end of the transition period it also means people cannot move between countries. So if you have residency sorted in Germany, you cannot then move to Spain for work – for example – without going through the Spanish immigration process.
  • The right to provide cross-border services as self-employed people.
  • As British in Europe states “Some professional qualifications e.g. lawyers practising under their home titles and EU-wide licences and certificates are not covered, nor is recognition of qualifications outside the country of recognition/residence across the EU 27.”
  • If you hook up with a local while you're living in an EU country don't assume that they will be able to live with you in the UK after the end of the transition period, even if you are married.

And of course all this depends on the UK managing to settle the thorny issue of the Irish border, then Boris Johnson convincing MPs to back the deal he has negotiated.

For more information on the citizens rights part of the withdrawal agreement you can visit the British in Europe website.

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BREXIT

OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

The EU has drawn up plans to make it easier for non-EU citizens to gain longterm EU residency so they can move more easily around the bloc, but Italy-based citizens' rights campaigner Clarissa Killwick says Brits who moved to the EU before Brexit are already losing out.

Published: 8 December 2023 14:34 CET
OPINION: Pre-Brexit Brits in Europe should be given EU long-term residency

With all the talk about the EU long-term residency permit and the proposed improvements there is no mention that UK citizens who are Withdrawal Agreement “beneficiaries” are currently being left out in the cold.

The European Commission has stated that we can hold multiple statuses including the EU long-term permit (Under a little-known EU law, third-country nationals can in theory acquire EU-wide long-term resident status if they have lived ‘legally’ in an EU country for at least five years) but in reality it is just not happening.

This effectively leaves Brits locked into their host countries while other third country nationals can enjoy some mobility rights. As yet, in Italy, it is literally a question of the computer saying no if someone tries to apply.

The lack of access to the EU long-term permit to pre-Brexit Brits is an EU-wide issue and has been flagged up to the European Commission but progress is very slow.

READ ALSO: EU government settle on rules for how non-EU citizens could move around Europe

My guess is that few UK nationals who already have permanent residency status under the Withdrawal Agreement are even aware of the extra mobility rights they could have with the EU long-term residency permit – or do not even realise they are two different things.

Perhaps there won’t be very large numbers clamouring for it but it is nothing short of discrimination not to make it accessible to British people who’ve built their lives in the EU.

They may have lost their status as EU citizens but nothing has changed concerning the contributions they make, both economically and socially.

An example of how Withdrawal Agreement Brits in Italy are losing out

My son, who has lived almost his whole life here, wanted to study in the Netherlands to improve his employment prospects.

Dutch universities grant home fees rather than international fees to holders of an EU long-term permit. The difference in fees for a Master’s, for example, is an eye-watering €18,000. He went through the application process, collecting the requisite documents, making the payments and waited many months for an appointment at the “questura”, (local immigration office).

On the day, it took some persuading before they agreed he should be able to apply but then the whole thing was stymied because the national computer system would not accept a UK national. I am in no doubt, incidentally, that had he been successful he would have had to hand in his WA  “carta di soggiorno”.

This was back in February 2022 and nothing has budged since then. In the meantime, it is a question of pay up or give up for any students in the same boat as my son. There is, in fact, a very high take up of the EU long-term permit in Italy so my son’s non-EU contemporaries do not face this barrier.

Long-term permit: The EU’s plan to make freedom of movement easier for non- EU nationals 

Completing his studies was stalled by a year until finally his Italian citizenship came through after waiting over 5 years.  I also meet working adults in Italy with the EU long-term permit who use it for work purposes, such as in Belgium and Germany, and for family reunification.  

Withdrawal agreement card should double up as EU long-term residency permit

A statement that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries should be able to hold multiple statuses is not that easy to find. You have to scroll quite far down the page on the European Commission’s website to find a link to an explanatory document. It has been languishing there since March 2022 but so far not proved very useful.

It has been pointed out to the Commission that the document needs to be multilingual not just in English and “branded” as an official communication from the Commission so it can be used as a stand-alone. But having an official document you can wave at the immigration authorities is going to get you nowhere if Member State governments haven’t acknowledged that WA beneficiaries can hold multiple statuses and issue clear guidance and make sure systems are modified accordingly.

I can appreciate this is no mean feat in countries where they do not usually allow multiple statuses or, even if they do, issue more than one residency card. Of course, other statuses we should be able to hold are not confined to EU long-term residency, they should include the EU Blue Card, dual nationality, family member of an EU citizen…

Personally, I do think people should be up in arms about this. The UK and EU negotiated an agreement which not only removed our freedom of movement as EU citizens, it also failed to automatically give us equal mobility rights to other third country nationals. We are now neither one thing nor the other.

It would seem the only favour the Withdrawal Agreement did us was we didn’t have to go out and come back in again! Brits who follow us, fortunate enough to get a visa, may well pip us at the post being able to apply for EU long-term residency as clearly defined non-EU citizens.

I have been bringing this issue to the attention of the embassy in Rome, FCDO and the European Commission for three years now. I hope we will see some movement soon.

Finally, there should be no dragging of heels assuming we will all take citizenship of our host countries. Actually, we shouldn’t have to, my son was fortunate, even though it took a long time. Others may not meet the requirements or wish to give up their UK citizenship in countries which do not permit dual nationality.  

Bureaucratic challenges may seem almost insurmountable but why not simply allow our Withdrawal Agreement permanent card to double up as the EU long-term residency permit.

Clarissa Killwick,

Since 2016, Clarissa has been a citizens’ rights campaigner and advocate with the pan-European group, Brexpats – Hear Our Voice.
She is co-founder and co-admin of the FB group in Italy, Beyond Brexit – UK citizens in Italy.

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