Brexit negotiations meeting
You are invited to a meeting for British residents regarding Brexit negotiations, to be held on
Thursday 9th November, at 19:00 hours (7.00 p.m.)
in the Sala de Plenos at Calvia Town Hal
Lloyd Milen, Consul General and Lucy Gorman, Vice Consul, will speak to attendees about the progress of Brexit negotiations and the future relationship between the UK and Spain.
The main focus of the visit will be the subject of citizens’ rights and how that is one of the main priorities for the British Government in the negotiations with the EU.
REPORT:
Brexit Outreach Meeting
Thursday 9th November,
at 19:00 hours (7.00 p.m.)
in the Sala de Plenos at Calvia
Town Hall
The British Consul-General, Lloyd Milen, presided at the
Meeting accompanied by Vice-Consul Lucy Gorman and Martin Standish from the U.K.
Department of Health.
Mr.Milen
opened the meeting by saying that the main focus would be the subject of
citizens’ rights and how that is one of the main priorities for the British
Government in the negotiations with the European Union. He emphasised that while there was a great
deal of speculative reporting in newspapers and other news media about the
negotiations, anyone interested should go to the internet site www.gov.uk and use the search box to find the specific information
on the U.K. Government´s position. The
website is updated whenever new information is obtained.
Vice-Consul
Lucy Gorman gave a short update on the work of the consular office in Palma,
emphasising that its main function was to provide
help to vulnerable British nationals;
provide aid to the bereaved families of
deceased British nationals;
and
provide welfare help to British nationals in need.
The consular service could not help to free prisoners
from jail, nor could it issue passports, neither could it provide a translation
service or issue notarised copies of passports or other documents. These
services can be obtained from private companies.
At this point Lloyd Milen said he had been requested
by Calvia Town Hall to give a plug on
behalf of the Padrón de habitantes system. It was estimated that less than half of
British nationals living on the island were registered on the Padrón.
Without registration, it was not possible to access the services
available to residents. Mr. Milen
strongly recommended that everyone should sign up for the Padrón – there was no downside to being registered.
Citizens Rights
Mr.Milen spoke about a recent interview with the
Spanish Foreign Minister on the Andrew Marr Show on television, in which the
Minister emphasised the strong desire of the Spanish Government that British
nationals living or working in, or travelling to, Spain should be able to do so
as freely after Brexit as they do at present.
This was a view shared by other countries, such as Italy, also. The
U.K. Government had made an offer on citizens´ rights but as yet no agreement
has been reached. The E.U.´s initial
offer of maintaining citizens´ rights as they are prior to Brexit was not
acceptable to the U.K. Government.
A general Q & A session then
ensued.
On the subject of taxation, Mr, Milen
reminded the audience that this was a matter for individual countries and
would, therefore, remain the same after Brexit.
Queried about Health Services,Mr. Standish said
the U.K. Government wanted to see a like-for-like replacement for the
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
It was very hopeful that this would be the case. The Government was committed to continuing
the payments it made to fund the access to Health Care of British nationals
living in the E.U.. Currently, for
example, the U.K. paid €3,880 annually to the Spanish Heath system for each
British national registered with the system.
On pensions it was expected that
combining years accrued in different countries would continue after Brexit. It had been decided that after Brexit,
pensioners living outside the U.K. in E.U. countries, would be treated exactly
as those pensioners living in the U.K..
The so-called Canadian Rule,
whereby a pensioner living in a country outside the E.U. had their pensions
frozen at the time of leaving the U.K. woud not apply.
Asked about Dual
Nationality, Mr. Milen said the U.K. had no problem allowing dual, or
even multiple nationalities but other
countries took a different view. Spain
for example, does not recognise dual nationality and a British national could become a Spanish
citizen only by surrendering British citizenship.
On the subject of British-flagged
boats in Spanish waters, Mr. Milen could only say that this and like
matters, such as fishing rights, is still to be decided.
A new British Passport was
already under design and would probably look very similar to the one in use
before Britain joined the E.U..
Questioned about the longevity of current passports, Mr. Milen said that
after Brexit they would continue to be valid until their normal expiration
date.
Voting. At present British nationals who have
lived outside the U.K. for 15 years or more are denied a vote in U.K.
elections. Legislation to amend this
position had been in preparation but was not enacted in time for the Brexit
vote or for the general election. It was
expected that it would come into effect presently.
There was a short
discussion on seasonal workers and Mr. Milen emphasisd that they should
endeavour to be properly employed and pay correct taxes as a way to ensure
their employment rights.
The Meeting
concluded.
The information
below was copied from www.gov.uk
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Present Status of
U.K. nationals
There will be no change to the rights and status
of UK nationals living in the EU while the UK remains in the EU.
·
UK nationals can continue to
travel freely within the EU using a UK
passport
·
there continue to be no visa
requirements for UK nationals entering another EU country
·
UK nationals can continue to
access healthcare during temporary visits to EU countries using the European Health Insurance Card
·
UK nationals retain
their legal status as EU citizens and can continue
to work and live in EU countries
·
UK nationals can continue to
receive healthcare in EU countries
The UK
government’s offer for EU citizens is:
·
People who have been continuously living here for 5 years will be able
to apply to stay indefinitely by getting ‘settled status’. That means these
citizens will be free to live here, have access to public funds and services
and go on to apply for British citizenship.
·
People who arrived before the cut-off date, but won’t have been here
for 5 years when we leave the EU, will be able to apply to stay until they
have reached the 5 year threshold. They can then also apply for settled
status.
·
Family dependants who are living with, or join, EU citizens in the UK
before the UK’s exit will also be able to apply for settled status after 5
years in the UK.
The cut-off date will be agreed
during the negotiations but we are clear that it shouldn’t be earlier than 29
March 2017 (the date Article 50 was triggered) or later than the date the UK
leaves the EU.
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