The UK government has published a document laying out their proposal for the rights of EU citizens who are long-term residents of the UK after Brexit.

The policy paper, The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union: safeguarding the position of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, has been published on the GOV.uk website and details what the UK government would like to happen.

As has been reported in the press, the government is offering EU citizens who have been in the UK for five years or more similar rights to people who have been granted permanent residence. This is intedned to be applied with a ‘light touch’ process to make applications easy. EU citizens applying will keep their rights to live and work, as well as access to public funds.

However, under government plans, EU citizens will no longer be able to sponsor spouses or partners to come to the UK unless they can meet the salary threshold of £18,600 per annum. They will also no longer be able to vote in local authority elections and may have to apply for an ID card and provide biometric information to the Home Office.

Certain rights have not been guaranteed under the proposal either. These include access to healthcare, rights for self-employed workers and the status of professional qualifications gained in the EU, which the government has said they will ‘seek to ensure’, rather than guarantee them.

The UK government have also published several case studies, explaining what would happen in certain situations.

Key figures in the EU, including Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, have said the offer doesn’t isn’t enough.

The EU published their document, Position paper on “Essential Principles on Citizens’ Rights”on 12th June 2017.

We expect the details of these offers to change as negotiations continue. These documents, however, provide an idea of possible outcomes for EU citizens in the UK.