How the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement Affects British Citizens Living in the EU
How the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement Affects British Citizens Living in the EU The EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement prevented Brexit from turning more than a million British citizens living in the European Union into undocumented immigrants overnight. But it also fundamentally changed what it means to be a British resident in Europe. British citizens who were legally living in an EU member state before the Brexit transition period ended on December 31, 2020, generally received substantial protections under the Withdrawal Agreement. They can continue living, working, studying, and in many cases building toward permanent residence in the country where they were already established. What disappeared was the broader system that came with EU citizenship. Before Brexit, a British citizen could rely on EU freedom of movement to settle in France, later move to Germany, take a job in Spain, or retire in Italy without going through the immigration procedures normally imposed on non-EU nati...