Brexit: May promises 3 million people could stay in UK

UK Prime Minister Theresa May promised EU citizens now living in Britain they could stay after Brexit but started a dispute with Brussels over the role of Europe's top court.

At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, May gave "a clear commitment that no EU citizen currently in the UK lawfully will be asked to leave the country at the point that the UK leaves the EU", a British government source said.

"The UK's position represents a fair and serious offer and one aimed at giving as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the UK, building careers and lives and contributing so much to our society," May told EU leaders.

The European Union has made the rights of an estimated three million Europeans living in Britain a priority; their futures have been thrown into doubt by its shock vote last year to leave the 28-nation bloc. At the same time German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the most powerful European leader, made clear Brexit is only of secondary importance to her, with the unity of the 27 remaining states paramount. 

Under May's plan, Europeans who have been living in Britain for five years at the time of a yet to be specified cut-off date would be entitled to a new "settled status" – granting them permanent rights to healthcare, education, welfare and pensions equivalent to British nationals.

Newer arrivals would be allowed to stay until they had amassed the necessary five years to qualify for settled status too.

Those who arrived after the cut-off date will have a "grace period" of up to two years, during which they can apply for another form of immigration status, such as a work permit.
The cut-off date is yet to be set, but will come between the day when Britain formally notified Brussels of its intention to quit on April 29 2017 and the day when it finally leaves, expected to be March 29 2019.

Mrs May also promised that the system will be streamlined, doing away with the 85-page permanent residency application form which has been the subject of loud complaints from EU expats.

But the introduction of a "grace period" raises the possibility that large numbers arriving during withdrawal negotiations may be allowed to remain, at least for a few years.

And the outline deal leaves questions unanswered over whether individuals with settled status will be permitted to bring in children or spouses and whether the new status will be subject to conditions other than length of residency.
Further details are expected to be revealed in a paper to be published by the UK Government on Monday.

European Council president Donald Tusk spoke of his "dream" that there could still be a U-turn on the Brexit decision before the expected date of withdrawal in March 2019.