Britain has voted to leave to European Union by 52% to 48%. Following the announcement of these results, PM David Cameron has also resigned. The government will now trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to formally notifying their intention to withdraw which would commence the two year negotiating period for the UK to leave the EU. The terms of the exit will be negotiated between Britain’s 27 counterparts and each will have a veto over the conditions.

The law, policy and procedure are all expected to change. Parliament could simply change all EU laws to British statutes or alternatively opt for something more radical by re-regulating Britain. However, all EU law will remain binding until we have completed the two year negotiation period.

The government will have to address the concerns of British citizens living in other EU countries and similarly EU citizens living in Britain. People would need reassurance that the status of nationals of other EU countries living in the UK is unchanged. The leave campaign has previously confirmed that until negotiations are not complete those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay. For the two years of negotiations, free movement of EU workers would still apply, so people could still come from elsewhere in the EU, but their immigration status after would be uncertain.

EU workers who are already in Britain could consider applying for Permanent Residency, however this application is made under EU law and therefore it is uncertain what status these visas would hold after Brexit. The alternative is to apply for British Citizenship which may be applicable to EU nationals already in the UK. There are a number of requirements including five years residence in the UK. Please contact our offices for more information.