Plans have been outlined to grant UK residents from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway similar rights post-Brexit as those from EU Member States. These developments have come as engagement between the UK and the three EEA EFTA members intensifies.

Agreement was reached in December 2017 to secure the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the 27 EU Member States. Government estimates put the number of people affected as 3 million EU citizens and 1 million UK citizens.

Government officials have met with their EEA EFTA counterparts in order to extend the deal to each other’s citizens.

The existing agreement between the EU and the UK covers residency, healthcare, pensions, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and other benefits. This could be extended to citizens of the three EEA EFTA states and UK citizens resident in these countries. The government estimates there are 18,000 Norwegian nationals, 2,000 Icelandic nationals and 40 Liechtenstein nationals living in the UK, and 15,000 UK nationals in Norway, 800 in Iceland and 60 in Liechtenstein.

EEA EFTA citizens are covered by free movement provisions through the EEA EFTA states’ membership of the European Economic Area Agreement. This allows them to currently move to the UK and other EU states, and similarly UK citizens are able to move to the three EEA EFTA states.

Following their meeting earlier this week the UK and EEA EFTA countries issued the following joint-statement:

Officials from the EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and the United Kingdom met on 12 February 2018 to discuss the agreement reached by the United Kingdom and the European Union on citizens’ rights in December 2017. Positive discussions on these issues took place at the meeting and the parties affirmed their desire to secure the status and protect the rights of UK nationals living in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and nationals of those countries living in the UK.