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Brexit: What Brits in Germany need to know about the law to guarantee residency

All British citizens who are lawfully resident in Germany up until the end of the Brexit transition period will be allowed to stay, a new law states. Here are the details.

Published: 12 June 2020 12:10 CEST
Brexit: What Brits in Germany need to know about the law to guarantee residency
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in August 2019. Photo: DPA

The Withdrawal Agreement protects a set of rights for UK nationals in the EU and EU citizens in the UK. Each member state is responsible for implementing the residence provisions of the agreement.

Germany has now adopted the law (Gesetzentwurf) which outlines the German government’s plans for implementing the terms of that Withdrawal Agreement.

Germany has opted for a so-called “declaratory system”.

Under the new law all British citizens who are lawfully resident in Germany according to EU freedom of movement law before the end of the transition period (currently December 31st 2020) will be entitled to stay in Germany.

To receive a new residence document confirming their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, UK nationals will need to contact their local foreigners authority (Ausländerbehörde) by June 30th 2021 at the latest, the British Embassy in Germany told The Local.

The German government had been considering which system it would opt for when it comes to residency permits for Brits in Germany after the transition period.

The options were a constitutive system, where people would have to apply for the rights to remain under the Withdrawal Agreement, similar to the 'Settled Status' process in the UK or the declaratory system, which means people have their rights already, although they will be issued with a card to prove this.

READ ALSO: 'No big bang but things will change down the line': How Brexit will affect Brits in Germany

The declaratory system is favoured by citizens' rights campaigners, such as British in Germany.

What does the German system mean in practical terms?

British nationals will be issued a card that confirms their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

The cost for this card will be €28.80 for those older than 24, and €22.80 for those younger than 24.

Every individual will get a card, including children, while families are encouraged to request the card together. The card will also work as proof of identity within Germany – however, for travel, British nationals must still take their UK passport, in addition to the card.

The exact application process will depend on where in Germany UK nationals live – some foreigners authorities have already published information in their area and others have not.

UK nationals in Germany can only be issued the new document once the legislative process has been completed, which is expected to happen during the summer.

In the UK, the British government introduced the EU Settlement Scheme in March 2019. Since then, more than 3.2 million EU citizens have been granted a status securing their rights, including almost 90,000 Germans.

'Welcome step'

British Ambassador to Germany Sir Sebastian Wood said the decision would “reduce bureaucracy” for Britons.

He told The Local: “UK nationals living in Germany have faced much uncertainty since July 2016.  

“Germany’s decision to implement the Withdrawal Agreement via a so-called declaratory process is a welcome step, and will reduce the bureaucracy faced by UK nationals who wish to stay here.  

“We look forward to it being implemented swiftly across the country.  My team and I will continue to support UK nationals as they take the steps required to confirm their rights. “

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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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