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- Starting on January 1, British and EU citizens will face the reality of Brexit when the transition period ends.
- For the approximately 1.3 million Britons living in the EU and the more than four million EU citizens living in the UK before the end of the transition period, their rights to stay are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement of 2019.
- Those who want to emigrate to other parts of the EU after January 1 will find a very different situation.
Starting on January 1, British and EU citizens will grapple with the reality of Brexit as the transition period ends and borders removed decades ago return.
From that date, the British will be treated by the EU as citizens of “third countries”, who will no longer enjoy the freedom of movement to work, study or retire throughout the European Union.
Britain, in turn, will process EU citizens at its borders as it does other non-British passport holders.
EU citizens who prove their residence in Great Britain, or Britons already living in a European Union country, will theoretically retain their rights under a Withdrawal Agreement reached at the end of 2019.
Tourists will see some immediate changes, in addition to the evolution of coronavirus restrictions that already hamper travel, but both parties have agreed that travel will not have a visa, as long as the other party keeps it that way.
But the EU will stop the use of British passports at its automated electronic gates, which could mean longer lines at manned passport booths.
Brits must have passports valid for at least six months and will be limited to stays in the EU of 90 days in a 180-day period.
They will also need to show travel insurance coverage, sufficient funds, and a return ticket upon request.
Europeans entering Britain can use a national ID card until October, after which only passports will be accepted, for stays of up to six months.
EU passport holders will be able to continue to use UK electronic gates under current guidance.
Those with a criminal record may be prohibited and non-European relatives of a European may need a visa, depending on nationality.
The UK treats Irish citizens separately from other EU citizens under a bilateral agreement that dates back almost a century and allows continued freedom of movement between Britain and Ireland.
Europeans will still be able to use EU pet passports as long as rabies vaccines are up to date.
Border control for business travelers is one of the countless issues that have yet to be resolved between the EU and the UK.
In the EU, Britons attending conferences or meetings will likely be exempt from visas when they are not paid or rendered services.
However, for other UK business travelers, including posted workers and the self-employed, a visa or work permit may be imposed in accordance with the laws of each EU country.
There will also be tax and social security considerations.
Certain services or company property in those countries may be prohibited for non-EU citizens or residents or for those without national licenses, and customs declarations may be required for transported goods.
Without an agreement between the EU and the UK, Britain will likely apply its current rules for those coming from favored countries, meaning a visa is needed to work but not for short stays to attend a conference or training.
Those same rules would require EU citizens with a job offer to demonstrate English language skills and a minimum wage depending on whether the position is qualified (£ 26,500, equivalent to € 29,600 or $ 35,000) or an occupation. shortage (£ 20,480, € 22,800).
Starting in January, EU students going to Britain will need a visa for courses longer than six months and will have to pay higher tuition fees, four times as much for degrees like medicine or MBA at prestigious universities.
UK universities fear that such a heavy burden will force many European students to choose EU institutions, some of which are free, causing a huge hole in their finances.
They also say they are already being rejected by research projects run by EU universities.
According to research by the UK Parliament, there were 143,000 EU students in British universities in the 2018-2019 school year.
International students have made Britain the second most popular educational destination after the United States, injecting 25.8 billion pounds (29 billion euros) into the UK economy in 2015.
Without an EU-UK agreement, British students will be excluded from the Erasmus + program which offers subsidized exchanges to EU countries.
British students wishing to go to EU universities will encounter higher fees in some countries, as well as visa requirements that, in many cases, will limit their right to work.
For the approximately 1.3 million Britons living in the EU and the more than four million EU citizens living in the UK before the end of the transition period, their rights to stay are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement of 2019.
Those who want to emigrate to other parts of the EU after January 1 will find a very different situation.
The British, for example, have long favored Spain, France, Germany, and Italy to establish new roots as workers or retirees.
But the end of free movement will put them through the same hurdles as other “third country” citizens, which often include health insurance, income and language requirements.
Even Britons settled under the Withdrawal Agreement will no longer have automatic rights to a different EU country and will face national immigration laws if they so wish.
Britain, for its part, is introducing a points-based system from 2021 that will make it much more difficult for Europeans to move there.
Age, English language ability, funds, requirement to pay a health surcharge will be assessed, with limits on some of the immigration channels.
