EU citizens to face tougher deportation laws after Brexit

EU citizens will face much tougher new deportation laws if they commit crimes in the UK after Brexit, the British government has warned.
The new standard, which will apply after Brexit, will mean that EU citizens who are sentenced to more than a year in jail will face deportation, according to a new Brexit technical paper.
The tough line emerged before a fresh round of talks opens in Brussels on Thursday and comes despite objections from European negotiators who want the 3.2m EU citizens in Britain after Brexit to retain all their current rights.
Under existing EU free movement rules, EU citizens face a much laxer deportation test than other foreign nationals in the UK, requiring the British government to demonstrate criminals pose a “serious threat to the fundamental interests of society” before deporting them.

 

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The British paper acknowledges that EU member states could take reciprocal action against UK citizens living in Europe after Brexit as a result of their own harder line.
UK officials say that behind the tough stance lies a determination that the 3.2m EU citizens given permanent settled status in Britain must not become a “privileged caste” of citizens who enjoy better rights that UK or other foreign nationals.

On the subject of registering the 3.2m EU citizens in Britain, the five-page document is at pains to assuage the fears of the EU that the UK Home Office will take an obstructive, legalistic approach to registration.
The EU has been angered by recent incidents that included EU nationals receiving deportation letters in error, and an infamous 85-page form that EU nations complained was almost impossibly burdensome to fill in.