Hard brexit and consequences for the 4.5 million expats

[Quietrebel]

With the growing threat of complete stalemate in the negotiations and the UK crashing out, I'm just wondering about the practical consequences for immigrants on both sides (EU in UK and UK in EU). Current average processing time of a PR application is 6 months. There are 3.5 million EU citizens here give or take... reading about the spat between Hammond and Javid on FOM didn't fill me with confidence (I won't even mention the btl comments in the Mail, they were vile). They were arguing about future arrivals post Brexit and the message from the Home Secretary was loud and clear: no flexibility whatsoever. In case of no transition and the limitations of what the HO could actually cope with, could we have millions suddenly unable to work, use the nhs etc.? For months, years? How would that look then??
For UK citizens in Europe, it will then also be up to the goodwill of their host country's government...
Mistreatment of citizens could potentially poison uk-eu relations durably even more and I think this is another example of why a crash out brexit is complete madness. Am I wrong to be concerned?

I think it would be OK eventually, but my worry is that if we crash out without a deal there might be a temporary limbo where British citizens in France don’t have the right paperwork. If I’m temporarily not allowed to work, what happens to my job? Getting pregnant is usually a pretty good insurance against losing your job here - I think it’s basically illegal to fire a pregnant woman or make her redundant. On the other hand I could find myself temporarily without health cover.

in France, having a French child is enough to get you a residence permit and (eventually) nationality.

Has anyone got a link to an official source for this? I'm intrigued, if not totally sure it would help me as I'm 41 and possibly no longer fertile. Also not sure if it would help my existing DCs stay in France - they will be 18, 13 and 10 at the time of Brexit.

Agustarella French govt website info re carte de séjour for a foreign parent of a French child:

www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2209

With regards to nationality:

Si vous êtes un étranger de plus de 65 ans, ascendant direct de Français et que vous vivez en France depuis au moins 25 ans, vous pouvez faire une déclaration de nationalité française.

A foreign citizen aged over 65 years who is a direct ascendant of a French national can claim French nationality by declaration if they have lived in France for 25 years. I'll have lived in France for 30 odd years by the time I am 65 so if I don't already have French citizenship by naturalisation then I'll do it by declaration (which is massively simpler procedure: my kids got their French nationality by declaration and it took all of 2 weeks).

But children born in France of foreign parents can only claim French nationality when they reach age 13 so it doesn't sound like this helps you, unless your older kids were also born in France.

www.ukcen.co.uk/settled-status-is-law-deal-or-no-deal/

It is, apparently, now set in UK law. I don't know how easily it could be reversed, should the powers that be decide to do so.

gonewishing thank you very much, I didn't know this and it's a welcome relief.

Now I hope every EU27 country will make fair arrangements for UK citizens there.

@Mistigri Thanks for the link! I'm in a LDR with a much older French man who has had fertility issues in the past, so I don't think I can probably magick up a French baby just like that. All my DCs are British born, although it seems that DS could get a second passport through his dad - a rather unappealing ex-communist country which will never be in the EU, alas. I guess what happens to our family is in the lap of the Gods now. Will still ship our stuff to France pre-March rather than continuing to risk eviction from rented digs in the UK, and hope for the best.

Gone thanks you for that.
I didn’t know it has been made law.
That IS a really good news!