How will Brexit affect the immigration rules?

The UK left the European Union on 31^st January 2020 at 11 pm GMT. With Brexit now in place, there will be several changes in immigration rules, especially the ones for travelling to the UK or the European Union. With Brexit, the freedom of movement between the European Union and the UK ends.

What are the immediate immigration changes that you can see after Brexit?

The immediate immigration changes that you can see are none. That is because there will be a transition period of one year. As the UK enters the transition year, freedom of movement will be available until the end of this transition year.

The current Visa rules for travelling to the European Union and the UK would remain the same till the year ends. Citizens of the UK would be able to live and work in the EU like before. Same is true for European nationals living and working in the UK.

What happens next?

There will be no freedom of movement after the transition year ends. Depending on the negotiations, that would most likely be by January 2021.

The UK plans to introduce an Australia-style points-based immigration system in the UK by the end of this year. European nationals living and working in the UK would need to apply and get approved by the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK.

How will Brexit affect UK nationals living, working or studying in other EU nations?

The new rules have not been finalized as yet. Most likely, each country would have a different set of rules depending on how the negotiations with the UK work out.

What is a points-based immigration system?

A points-based immigration system is one where applicants are given points on different parameters. Candidates who surpass the required number of points or the ones scoring the highest points are admitted into the country. Generally, such an immigration system has an annual quota.

Australia has a points-based immigration system where applicants are given points on economically relevant parameters like education, work experience, language skills etc. Applicants must nominate an occupation from the given lists of eligible occupations. Applicants must also meet the points criteria in order to obtain a Visa.

Canada and New Zealand also have a points-based immigration system.

What is the EU Settlement Scheme?

The UK has asked citizens of certain countries to confirm their immigration status to allow them to live and work in the country after the freedom of movement ends. These are:

• Citizens and their relatives from the EU
• Citizens of countries from the European Economic Area
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Switzerland
• Norway

Those granted status would be able to access benefits and funds, access the NHS, as well as travel in and out of the UK. However, such immigrants would first need to prove their identity. They must be able to prove that they live in the UK. They must also declare any criminal cases against them before the transition period ends in December this year.

Y-Axis offers a wide range of Visa and Immigration services as well as products to overseas immigrants including UK Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa, Business Visa for the UK, Study Visa for the UK, Visit Visa for the UK, and Work Visa for the UK.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or  Migrate to the UK, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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