Retaining EU residency while staying in the UK.

[crazycatguy]

I want to retain residency in the EU so that I can have easier rights to travel and eventually live in Germany. I cannot do this right now as I have elderly family here whom I am responsible for.

I am not Irish enough (or anything else) to qualify for citizenship.

I don't have €500,000 to invest in Cyprus or Malta.

Is it possible (and legal) to rent the cheapest property in the cheapest part of any EU country to keep some form of residency in the vain hope that I'll still be entitled to it when we cut ourselves off?

I'm not sure of the answer to your question, but there's a petition asking that UK ciitizens be allowed to retain their right to EU citizenship post Brexit.

Do you plan to live in this EU country, as that would be the only way you may be able to qualify. Simply renting property there won't be enough as it isn't now and it's not going to get easier.

I won't say it's impossible but it isn't as easy as renting a property. You need evidence of having lived and being tax resident there.

I think it would be non-starter if you have a salaried job in the UK as you can't be tax resident in two countries.

You MIGHT get away with it it you rented a house, started paying local taxes as a resident, opened bank accounts, and created a small on-line business to get yourself into local social insurance and health care systems. (You would need to actually do business, and invoice from that address, so that you are into the system, and also declare yourself tax resident there for income tax purposes).

It wouldn't be legal and you'd be exposing yourself to a risk if HMRC ever chose to check how long you had spent in the UK while paying taxes abroad.

Renting or even buying a property does not give you residency, you’d be a second home owner. Most countries have a strict number of days per year you need to be paying (income not local) tax and living in that country in order to claim residency. In most cases you will also need to declare yourself to the local authority as resident. (In most cases this will mean having a local ID card).
You can work in the U.K. and live in another EU country and claim residency, I do, but it’s complicated and you need to register with both tax authorities and fulfill the criteria for being a cross border worker.
Why don’t you join one of the many pressure groups pushing for a second referendum or removal of Brexit?

Once Brexit day is over and up to the end of any transition period things will be a bit 'crazy' but after that the situation will become clear and some degree of normality will break out. People will be able to move between countries but getting the paperwork sorted out will probably be a little more complicated or time consuming, but it will be possible.
Renting property and whatever else is proposed is a very expensive way of trying to get around a bit of delay and a few hundred Pounds in fees (possibly). You can go to places like Saudi, there are hoops to jump through but once you know the limitations you work around it.

Already part of those groups but not optimistic...!

Which country are you registered in as a cross border worker?

I may be thick here but what is keeping you from going to Germany at some point post-Brexit without staying an EU resident?

From what I understand you need to fulfill certain criteria (sufficient knowledge of the language, history and sufficient capital and/ or a job, which is in high demand), but Germany isn't exactly impossible to get into and become resident in.

How far in the future are we talking here?

I am currently an EU resident. In March I am not. I'd like to retain this.

How long have you been an EU resident, and when are you likely to move back to the UK?

Once you have permanent residence (ie typically after 5 years) it seems to be generally the case that you can have a period of absence before you lose that right to reside. But in your shoes I would not want that gap to include 29/3/19.

If you want to remain an EU resident with all that entails you will have to leave the UK as it is pretty likely that the UK will not be part of the EU from the end of March next year.
It is part of 'cake and eat it' story.

I have been an EU resident for many years by virtue of the fact the UK is currently in the EU. My UK passport and the current rules permit me to move from country to country at will.

Brexit removes all this from me. I'm trying to find a way around it, like so many have; there are no obvious routes, that's all.

The obvious route is to move before March 2019. There is a good chance that any migrant who has already established residency by then will get to keep it.

I don't know the answer to your question, but it is quite clear now that the majority of UK citizens want to retain their EU citizenship.

So why the hell are we allowing these idiots to take us out of the EU?

I think my best bet is to march on the 20th October, I've never taken part in a protest march and my disability means it will be intensely painful for me but this is so important I have to at least try.

Well said OddBoots

From what I understand you need to fulfill certain criteria (sufficient knowledge of the language, history and sufficient capital and/ or a job, which is in high demand), but Germany isn't exactly impossible to get into and become resident in

We have no idea. Germany was easy in 2015 if you claimed to be a refugee but I think things have tightened up a bit since then. They have said they would welcome young Brits with good skills especially in Berlin where you can survive without speaking German well, but what politicians say and what bureaucrats say on the ground will be two different things. And it doesn't depend on Germany anyway, it will depend on the EU.

Sadly if you can't dig up an EU passport there is nothing you can do. The only hope is that we stay in the EEA.

I live in France and work in the U.K. 4 days a week crazycatguy. I am slowly building my own business in France and am steadily collecting the paperwork in order to stay.

Easy to establish yourself in France? I speak French which makes life easier!