Deemed leave: A concrete plan to secure EU residents’ rights post-Brexit

Article

The EU referendum result cast immediate doubt on the future status of EU nationals currently resident here; the government has made assurances that they will have the right to stay, yet very few concrete plans have been put forward. This briefing argues that granting EU nationals 'deemed leave', and streamlining the registration process, would be a practical, effective solution.

This month the prime minister will trigger article 50. For the 3 million EU nationals who are resident in Britain, that will throw the uncertainty over their future status into sharper relief. There have been rallies, Lords amendments, and countless articles written on this issue, all imploring the government to take action. Yet despite the handwringing, very few people have put forward a concrete, practical plan for how to secure EU nationals’ rights.

IPPR has been working on this issue since the referendum. In the immediate aftermath of the result, we called on the government to protect the rights of EU nationals and grant citizenship to all Europeans working in the NHS. We have also outlined how the government is, to all intents and purposes, bound to guarantee their rights eventually, as the alternatives are all either impractical or impossible.

In this briefing, we set out a straightforward and practical way for the government to resolve this issue.

Related items

  1. The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, River Thames and Westminster Bridge

    Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget

    The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…
  2. Scottish parliament building at Holyrood and Calton Hill, Edinburgh

    Great expectations: Rejuvenating the national debate in Scotland

    Fresh IPPR Scotland polling shows that politicians must raise their game if next year’s election is a to be serious debate about the challenges facing Scotland and potential solutions. 
  3. A Black man in a bright orange high vis jacket and hard hat stands in the middle of a road holding a sign that says 'STOP - WORKS'

    Unfinished business: Redressing inequality in British policy and Black lives

    As conversations about race and equality continue to evolve, Black History Month remains a powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and recommit to progress.