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hat will happen after March 29, 2019, when Brexit finally becomes effective? Great uncertainties and doubts come to the minds of EU residents in the United Kingdom. A large community of Spaniards resides in the United Kingdom: people who have their busy daily lives, each with their circumstances; there are those who work or study a career, others who come looking to improve the great pending subject, English, and others who have come to seek their fortune abroad to make a dream come true, each with their life and their hopes.
What all of them did not think was that one day, specifically June 23, 2016, their British fellow citizens would decide to vote in a referendum for the country's exit from the European Union and that this referendum would have a favorable result to this intention, specifically 52% in favor and 48% against.
March 2019 is approaching faster and faster, and doubts and concerns are coming to light. One day because one thinks about it and another because a friend or coworker brings up the topicOn March 29, 2017, the United Kingdom officially notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU by activating Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon. And on June 19, the first round of negotiations began between the European Commission and Theresa May's government. At the same time, the UK government reassured its residents from the rest of Europe by sending communications by postal mail -here, an example- saying that this would not affect them in any way. And, although at first everything seemed to falter, after a while most people continued with their lives trying to think as little as possible about Brexit.
But March is approaching faster and faster, and doubts and concerns are coming to light. One day because one thinks about it and another because a friend or coworker brings up the topic.
The fact is that movement regarding Brexit is starting to be seen. Newspapers are full of the topic, and so are hallway conversations. Although negotiations between Theresa May's government and the European Commission are proving very difficult and for now do not seem close to a solution.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Embassy has opened a space to address inquiries that Spanish residents in the United Kingdom may have about Brexit and its consequences. The Embassy of Spain in London has published on its website frequently asked questions about Brexit regarding healthcare, employment, social security, and retirement, prepared by the Employment and Social Security Office of the diplomatic entity itself.
On the part of the European Commission, on December 12, 2017, a document with questions and answers about the future after Brexit was published: "Questions and Answers – the rights of EU27 and UK citizens post-Brexit, as outlined in the Joint Report from the Negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government". This document states that citizens residing in the United Kingdom during the separation will have the same residency conditions required by current EU legislation, but that they will have to apply for a "special status". The obtaining of this status will be done in accordance with the current conditions established in the Directive for free movement, which dictates that all citizens residing in the United Kingdom who work or have sufficient economic resources will be able to achieve the special status valid for 5 years and that they will then have to renew it to become permanent.
THE BIG QUESTION IS: HOW WILL ALL THIS END? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO CITIZENS WHO WANT TO EMIGRATE AFTER BREXIT?
Putting ourselves in the worst possible scenario -that no agreement would be reached between one side and the other-, this would leave British politics in a very difficult situation. Probably, May would end up resigning and the United Kingdom would be forced into a situation of isolation caused by tariffs and customs, as well as the difficulty for British citizens to move outside the United Kingdom. Not to mention the problem there would be with Northern Ireland, which could become severely isolated. As for the possible economic consequences, the cost this could cause in the United Kingdom is beginning to be calculated and the figures are astronomical. Another harm the country would face would be the eventual brain drain, which can already be seen with the movement of companies to other European cities such as Paris, Dublin, Milan or Amsterdam.
For those people who wanted to move to the UK after Brexit, according to the Financial Times, May could restrict all these facilities only to "high-skilled workers" and they quote her own words: "It will be a skills-based system where it is workers' skills that matter, not where they come from. It will be a system that looks across the globe and attracts the people with the skills we need." Which, in other words, means that the United Kingdom would become a country where only citizens who are highly qualified workers, with the qualities that the United Kingdom needs, could reside.
From here, there are countless more positive options, but Brexit for now remains a stone in the shoe. Until further notice, we do not know if we will be able to walk comfortably or if we will have to change shoes.