There are plans of a transition period that will last 21 months, from the 29th of March 2019 to the 31st of December 2021, with the purpose of maintaining the rights of European immigrants during that time.

The British Government published the online procedure that European citizens living in the United Kingdom must follow during the transition period to qualify for the status of settled or pre-settled, depending on whether they have been living there more or less than five years.

Once granted, the applicant can continue living indefinitely and be treated as a British citizen in terms of health care, education, benefits and pensions.

The procedure will be fairly simple and fast and you just have to prove your identity, prove that you are a resident of the United Kingdom, confirm that you do not have serious criminal records and pay 65 pounds.

British diplomacy is trying to lay the foundations of an agreement with the other EU member states. All the proposals of the United Kingdom show the desire to maintain the instruments of cooperation within the EU as far as possible.

If there is no final agreement, the two-year transition period requested by London will not be possible, it will proceed according to the much more limited instruments of the conventions of the Europe Council and the Hague Conference, which means the Brexit and its consequences will advance considerably.

The worst consequences of a Brexit without agreement with the EU are without a doubt:

1. The free circulation of goods between the United Kingdom and the EU would end, since the companies that trade with Europe from the United Kingdom will have to carry out the same bureaucratic procedures that they now carry out with companies from outside the EU.
2. The increase in costs in the use of credit and debit cards in transactions between the United Kingdom and the EU.
3. It would affect the collection of salaries, loan and deposit services and insurance contracts since the United Kingdom would be left out of the EU's payment system.
4. The clients of banks established in the United Kingdom that reside outside the country will not be able to access financial services from those entities. This will happen both to individuals and companies of the European Economic Area and to those of British nationality residing abroad.

The situation is very complicated as the government of the United Kingdom and the European Union must chart a new course of separation and autonomy. We can only wait and hopefully the agreement will be the widest and most beneficial for both parties.

Written by Carmen García.

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