Partners who are EU Citizens

[smellfunny]

My fiancee, who is Polish, has been residing in the UK on and off over the last 10 years. He did his undergraduate and Masters in the UK (one year of which was abroad). Following his Masters, he spent 6 months in Poland. Over the last 3.5 years he has been doing a PhD in the UK. However over the past few months his official residence has been in the Poland (despite spending most of his time with me at my flat in the UK). Both of us are extremely anxious about Brexit and what this means for his right to be in the UK. We have £5000 of savings, and my fiance has a part-time job, however we have never shared a tenancy agreement.

Does anyone have any idea as to what Brexit is likely to mean for his right to remain in the UK (he's currently spending a few weeks with his mother in Poland) or advice as to how to better our situation regarding allowing him to stay and work in the UK after Article 50 is invoked?

I'm so sorry you are going through this.

As are thousands of couples in UK where one is an EU national.

Same as Brits all over EU, married, kids, their whole life there.

Thing is, no-one can tell what the outcome will be.

Personally, I think it's a disgrace to leave people in limbo like this.

fuck brexit

Similar.

Separated from h pending divorce. He's been here over 20 years and we have a child. Wary of doing residency as it has a high rejection rate. The forms are overly long and he's meant to document every absence from the uk since 1993 .

We are sweating it out nervously. Reluctant to do residency if he's rejected and on a technicality, ex h not great at keeping records.

I wish you the best.

But in your case he hasn't been here that long so gather as much evidence of residency as you can.

The government has been clear that it wants to give EU nationals legally resident in the UK the right to remain but that it will not do so until the EU agrees to give the same rights to UK nationals legally resident in the EU. The government has asked the EU to agree to this in advance of Brexit negotiations so that everyone can have peace of mind. Unfortunately some countries (Germany for one) are refusing to agree, saying this must be part of the negotiations.

Personally I would be gobsmacked if the EU does not eventually agree to this. I also think it is appalling that they are refusing to agree in advance. I sympathise with your worries.

The EU will negotiate when the UK invokes A50, i.e. actually says it is going to leave.
Because it is the Uk who decided to change everything

It is only the UK who is sending out "prepare to depart" letters to frighten E27 expats

After A50, Uk and E27 expats should be treated equally

May is trying to cherrypick bilateral deals, just like she's trying to do for trade.
So she's happy to negotiate with Spain - many UK pensioners there, not many Spanish people in the Uk.
But Poland is v different, all those Poles in the Uk, few Brits in Poland

There should be one deal for all nationalities. No cherry-picking.

The govt has vowed to throw out the HoL amendment which would have promised that E27 expats can stay in the UK.

If this is because the govt are genuinely worried about UK expats, they could have made their own conditional amendment: to say they would allow E27 expats to stay, provided UK expats could stay.

I'm waiting to see if they do this

btw, I'm a Uk expat and there just isn't public pressure to lower immigration from other EU countries, or even from the Uk.
The UK govt is NOT protecting UK expats by being tough to E27 expats
I think they are pandering to the anti-immigration vote again - and maybe planning to use E27 expats as the final bargaining chips for a better trade deal.

If he likes tbe UK and wants to spend tbe rest of his life here, can he work towards app!ying for citizenship? And get married. That will surely help come judgement day.

The EU will negotiate when the UK invokes A50

Most countries in the EU are willing to agree this point in advance of any negotiations. Unfortunately one or two are not.

It is only the UK who is sending out "prepare to depart" letters to frighten E27 expats

We could try being accurate here. Some EU citizens living in the UK are worried about the situation and are applying for permanent residence. If their paperwork is not correct they receive a letter saying they should prepare to leave. This has long been the process. The letter is bureaucratic, causes unnecessary worry and needs to change. But it is not new and it is not the case that EU citizens are being told generally that they need to prepare to leave.

they could have made their own conditional amendment: to say they would allow E27 expats to stay, provided UK expats could stay

This bill will become an act of parliament. You don't put a negotiating position into an act of parliament. The government has stated repeatedly that securing the status of EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU will be a priority as soon as negotiations begin. I see no reason to disbelieve them, especially since they have publicly made the offer to the rest of the EU.

I'm a Uk expat and there just isn't public pressure to lower immigration from other EU countries, or even from the Uk

Why are ECREU (Expat Citizens Rights in EU) worried then? They talk about "the fear and worry that so many British citizens in the EU have". Are they wrong?

The UK govt is NOT protecting UK expats by being tough to E27 expats

So why aren't the remaining EU countries rushing to guarantee the right of UK expats to remain? There is nothing preventing them from doing so. Indeed, the government specifically offered to agree this immediately.

Thank you everyone for your messages - it's really helpful reading other people's opinions and knowledge of the situation, especially since the newspapers and government seem to be fluctuating between vagueness and scare-mongering.

The main issue for my fiance is that he hasn't lived in the UK for 5 continuous years yet (which is the prerequisite for the permanent residence documentation), and 6 years would be the minimum for citizenship. We'll be getting married in June next year so still a bit of a wait on that front, and we don't currently share an address. Furthermore, there's a chance that he might be in Poland when A50 is invoked, which may put him in a disadvantageous position as well...

Nonetheless, thank you all for your support and clarity.