The government is preparing to announce a registration process for the estimated 3 million EU citizens living in the UK, as a first step towards regularising their legal status post-Brexit.
It is understood ministers will unveil plans inviting all EU citizens to officially “register their interest” in acquiring documentation allowing them to live and work in the country after 2019 when Britain is scheduled to leave the European bloc.
The government is hoping the stocktaking exercise will help it understand the scale of the demand for residency applications once Britain leaves the EU and prevent an overwhelming avalanche of applications on Brexit day.
The registration process is expected to be part of a new scheme tailor-made for EU citizens already living in the UK.
It will not be linked to the current and controversial permanent residency process, which requires applicants to submit mountains of paperwork to demonstrate they have a right to remain in the country.
There is no no legal obligation for EU citizens to apply for residency cards, but many have been panicked into applying for the document as they see it as the only way to prove their status after Brexit takes effect.
The new scheme is expected to form part of the wider proposal on EU citizens’ rights, which the Brexit secretary, David Davis, said would be outlined on Monday.
The offer is being described by government sources as “generous” but any deal that fails to match that put on the negotiating table by the EU is likely to get a hostile reception by EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in the EU.
Nicolas Hatton, co-founder of grassroots campaign group the3million, said the government’s protracted position that EU citizens could be “bargaining chips” in Brexit talks and Theresa May’s refusal to offer any details on the Conservative party’s position had fostered deep suspicion among EU citizens.
“If the registration process is not going to entitle them to residency, they won’t do it. People will be sceptical and think it will be used to foul their applications,” he said. “They just won’t bother to register – they will see it as pointless.”
Monique Hawkins, a dual British-Dutch national, who made international headlines when her application for permanent residency was refused on technical grounds, also reported mistrust among EU citizens.
She has spent six months working behind the scenes with the3million and the British in Europe, a coalition of groups representing Britons on the continent.
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