Oz diplomat floats Brit/Aussie free movement as part of trade deal

Could a post-Brexit trade deal between Australia and the UK include free movement of expats between the two countries?

Once upon a time, Australia was an all-time favourite expat destination for Britons fed up with the British weather. Nowadays, Australian immigration requirements are some of the strictest on the planet, leaving Brits who would have once found emigrating to Oz straightforward with little option but to give up and choose another destination.

Surprisingly, a suggestion made earlier in Britain’s seemingly never-ending stumble towards Brexit might well result in a rush of Brits heading to the other side of the world. It’s all about free trade, with the Australian High Commissioner George Brandis’s appearance on a well-known TV news site suggesting a post-Brexit trade deal between his country and the UK might include free movement for expats headed in both directions. The official wasn’t exactly specific, but Australia seems more than keen to start trade negotiations as soon as the UK/EU divorce is finalised and could well throw in this idea to smooth the path.

According to Brandis, free movement is often a factor in free trade deals as well as the usual elements such as capital, services and goods. He went as far as to visualise younger expats from both nations spending time in each others’ countries, adding that certain aspects of both countries’ visa restrictions and categories might well need an overhaul reflecting the UK’s changing circumstances. It’s not yet known what the UK’s new PM and Tory party members would think of such a suggestion, but a good number of disgruntled Remain supporters might view the idea with enthusiasm at worst.