U N I T E D K I N G D O M
Since the referendum in June in which 52 % of participants voted for the UK to leave the European Union , there has been much speculation as to the implications for immigration between the EU and the UK .
Until the UK government notifies the European Council of its decision to leave the EU ( under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty ), negotiations between the EU and the UK on the terms of any separation , future trade deal and possible transition arrangements will not begin , and are expected to last two years . In other words , no one can be sure how the fallout from the referendum will affect immigration . European leaders have declared themselves unwilling to allow the UK to remain in the EU ’ s single market if the UK insists on curbing the rights of EU nationals to live and work in the UK .
There are approximately 3 million EU nationals already resident in the UK with around 2.2 million in work . There has already been a surge in applications being submitted to the Home Office by EU nationals seeking an endorsement of their right to remain , and the Home Office has introduced a new streamlined online registration service .
Similarly , it is likely that many UK nationals in other EU countries who have previously not applied for permanent residency will be motivated to do so by the referendum result to shore up their status and , for some , to get on the pathway to citizenship of another EU Member State . The UK government also made several changes to the Tier 2 visa category , including increases in salary thresholds , and the closure of the Skills Transfer sub-category .