EU nationals in UK to prove their residency ahead of potential expat deal

ANXIETY among EU nationals living in post-Brexit Britain may not be calmed by new calls for them to scramble together all the evidence they possess to show that they had a life in the UK before the referendum.

Lady Helena Kennedy, chair of the House of Lords committee investigating the ‘acquired rights’ of European citizens in the UK, and British expats abroad on the continent, made the call, which suggests things may get nasty in the near future.

“Make a file now with proof of your presence and supporting letters from people who’ve known you, you have taught you or who you have had business dealings with,” she said in an interview where she also suggested that the cut off date for people moving to the UK should be the June referendum. 

The House of Lords sub-committee is expected to recommend that Theresa May make the first move in guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals in the country, as a means to gaining goodwill in negotiations and also protecting British expats. 

It will say Theresa May is under a ‘heavy moral obligation’ to assure EU nationals of their legal situation and rights as the UK risks alienating much needed foreign workers from the country.

Lady Ludford, a Liberal Democrat on the committee, said making the first move would also help lift a ‘cloud of uncertainty’ over the millions of British expats simultaneously wondering about their own legal status.