Should the EU 27 sovereign states only ‘reciprocate’ what the UK decides for EU 27 nationals resident in the UK sovereign state?
The plaintiffs of the recent January court case, heard in Amsterdam, did not think so. Neither does Belgian politician Guy Verhofstadt. The ‘defending’ Dutch state, during the hearing, said that the petitioning parties had been ‘premature’. But were they? Theresa May’s cabinet has already set the date, and time, for EU withdrawal at 23:00 29th March 2019. That seems to be with or without any deals being negotiated; and it is only just over one year away. The Dutch government do not seem to know what will happen, for British citizens resident in the Netherlands, after that date either. In 2019 nor the future.
Giving the British Embassy in the Netherlands their due, they did organise a couple of ‘forums’ for resident British Citizens and invited members of the Dutch Immigration service (IND) to attend. However, at the forums, only information that many already knew was relayed; questions about our most worry issues could not be answered, not even by the Dutch IND. If this experience was anything to go by, not only are the UK ill-prepared for ‘Brexit’, neither are the EU 27 states.
What has not been answered by the Dutch State is:
If I have not been resident in the Netherlands for five years by the ‘Brexit date’, will I and my family still be given the right to remain and work? What if I fall on ‘hard times’ and have to apply for benefits; will I and my family be asked to leave the country?
If I have been resident in the Netherlands for five years by the ‘Brexit date’, and have also applied for and gained ‘permanent residency’ rights as an EU citizen, will that be legally rescinded and will I have to apply again as a non-EU citizen? What will happen to my family in that instance, especially if I am the only ‘breadwinner’ and on a low income?
Will British Citizens be required to pass the inburgering exams? If so, will the DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs; https://duo.nl/particulier/) rule of not being able to gain a loan for the cost of Dutch lessons (if one needs them; it is not compulsory) and the cost of the exams after three years of residence be waived for British Citizens?
Will I still be able to simply ‘swap’ my UK driving license for a Dutch one, or will I be required to pass Dutch written (which are available in English at extra cost) and ‘practical’ driving tests?
The list goes on; nobody knows.
Because of all the uncertainties, some Brits are opting to take Dutch nationality. For those with more than 15 years residence who have been married to a Dutch national for more than three years or are over 65 years of age, that might suit as they can become dual nationals by option. That might not suit all because to become Dutch by naturalisation means giving up their UK nationality. Not only does this mean paying an additional fee to the UK (unlike some EU 27 countries, the UK does not automatically rescind UK nationality upon acquiring another nationality) but also means that the person will no longer have any right to live or work in the UK after 2019; they will have to apply for residence/work permits or working visas.
Some are concerned that they might have to go back to the UK, for example, to care for elderly or sick parents; having to apply for UK residence in this instance, especially without work that pays a certain minimum income, may well be futile. The same could be said of British citizens resident in one EU 27 state with elderly parents resident in another EU 27 state. The ‘settled status’ being offered to EU 27 citizens in the UK, is also not good enough for UK citizens resident in the EU 27, if offered reciprocally, in this sort of example. With the UK ‘settled status solution’, people would face losing their right to remain in their current country of residence if they are absent from that country for more than two years. We do not know yet if the EU 27 will accept, and reciprocate, ‘settled status’. But, even so, without proper ‘EU citizen’ status, the problems for the British living in the EU 27 could be much greater.
Some of us could have lived in the Netherlands for a couple of decades as families, or individuals, fallen foul of the global economic crisis, and had to live on bijstand for a couple of years; will we be requested, as non-EU citizens to leave our friends, support network, social network, homes and the country we love and live in? It sounds ludicrous, but it has happened to some non-EU citizens that have lived in the Netherlands for more than 20 years.
Some of us have lived in the Netherlands, as EU citizens, for less than five years and technically have no right to permanent residence as an EU citizen; will We be given the right to remain, to live and work, in the Netherlands after the end of March 2019?
Some of us are freelance workers; we have lived in the Netherlands before, but those years do not count towards ‘permanent residency’ because the five years of residency has to be continuous; what will happen in 2019 with regard to our right to remain in the Netherlands, and what will happen if we need to leave the Netherlands for a few years because of a work contract and then wish to return to the Netherlands for a subsequent work contract?
These examples are inexhaustible.
There are issues faced by many others, including potential Erasmus students and simply those who hold British passports and may want to study outside the UK for the whole of their degree.
Many may not agree with the decision of the plaintiffs to take matters to the Dutch court. But is it not best to try to gain some consensus (especially if referred further to European courts) about the retention of some or all of our EU rights as post-‘Brexit’ British citizens?. Do not most of the 50,000 British residents in the Netherlands sometimes think:
How will our rights in 2019, and the future, be affected?
It seems nobody knows; is that fair?
She also oversees the 'fun' Facebook page The Queens Hat and ‘useful’ Facebook group ‘Re-use, Recycle, Re-invent - 'expats' in NL’
