Reciprocity for expats is on the Brexit back burner as the pandemic rages

Britons still determined to relocate to Europe may find it all depends on reciprocity.

The plight of British expats and those still in the UK wanting to emigrate is now on the Brexit back burner as the pandemic continues to rage across Europe. Brits attempting to continue with their plans for a new future in a European member state are beginning to realise their chance of fulfilling their dream rests on the British government’s attitude towards EU citizens at present resident in the UK.

Reciprocity is the word on which many thousands of would-be British expats’ hopes now rest, whether they’re at present living in Britain or in an EU member state. Should the UK take a hard line on immigration, whether it’s for business or personal reasons, it’s a certainty that Britons will have an equally hard time staying where they choose to be or getting there in the first place. Should the EU disallow at least some form of freedom of movement to UK expats living in member states, this decision would effectively landlock Brits in their country of residence.

The fact that reciprocity on the part of the UK government would mean EU citizens at present in the UK would also be landlocked isn’t even worth thinking about for those caught in the conundrum. One sector due to suffer whichever way is that of Brits married to EU citizens and living in the Eurozone as well as EU citizens married to Brits and living in the UK. In either case, the result could be devastating as it traps one spouse into choosing between relocating without their partner or staying overseas.

For expats with elderly parents needing end of life care, the choice is one which no couple should ever have to make. At the present time, the solution to the above rests with the UK’s treatment of its EU expats living and working in Britain right now. How and when this may be considered an important enough issue in the midst of a deadly pandemic is anyone’s guess.