Last week Michel Barnier and I sat down for the first time, to begin negotiating the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. I have been clear that our first priority is to provide certainty to EU citizens living in the UK and to UK citizens living in the EU. I’m pleased that the EU has agreed this is one of the first issues we will address – and yesterday, the UK published a detailed policy document explaining our offer.
Three million EU citizens, including 31,000 Maltese, have made the UK their home.
They have contributed to the very fabric of Britain. And they deserve to look at their futures with as much certainty as possible. We welcome the fact that there are around 1,000 Maltese students attending UK universities – from London, to Bristol, Swansea and Glasgow.
So, with Brexit negotiations starting last week I will outline the UK’s offer to secure the rights of these people we value so much. And it is only fair we secure an agreement with the EU that protects over a million UK nationals in the EU, including the 9,000 or so British nationals who live in Malta, in a similar, reciprocal way.
We want to guarantee the status of EU citizens already living in the UK and enable them to continue to live their lives broadly as now.
We will treat EU citizens equally and will not discriminate between nationals of different member states.
Our intention is to enable law-abiding EU citizens who have settled in the UK before an agreed date to apply for settled status under British law, along with their families. The UK believes this date should be no earlier than March 29, 2017 and no later than when Britain officially leaves the EU.
As long as they want to stay living here, they will see no immigration conditions placed on their residency.
We will make it simple for those Maltese who have made their lives in the UK to stay
That means people will be able to work and study in the UK freely. They’ll be able to claim benefits and pensions and apply for social housing on the same basis as UK citizens.
Why are we doing this? Because it is the right thing to do. We’ll continue to welcome people, whether in the EU or outside the EU, who want to come to Britain, work hard and contribute.
There will also be a ‘grace’ period between the moment the UK leaves the EU and the time people obtain their residence document, to avoid a legal gap between the end of free movement rights and people from the EU getting settled status in Britain.
It means EU citizens will be able to remain lawfully in the UK during this interim period and that we can bridge any gap for people waiting for their residency documentation to come through.
We intend to introduce a voluntary scheme to enable eligible EU citizens to apply for their residence document before the UK leaves the EU – thus reducing uncertainty and making Brexit as smooth and efficient as possible for EU residents here.
It is a fair and serious offer that rightly recognises the invaluable contribution EU citizens have made to the UK. Over the past year, as I’ve spoken to leaders across Europe it has become clear that securing citizens rights and offering them peace of mind is a priority for both sides.
I recognise that there has been considerable uncertainty for some of you and your family and friends in the UK.
This situation has not been helped by a number of myths about our approach. These range from suggestions that the UK was going to take draconian action to remove Maltese nationals from the UK once we leave. Or that we would design a process so complicated that it discouraged people from Malta from staying here beyond our withdrawal.
This is something I want to correct now. The UK is a tolerant, open and diverse country. We will continue to be just that. We will make it simple for those Maltese who have made their lives in the UK to stay. We welcome the contribution you have made to our country. I’ve no doubt this is achievable.
We will continue to welcome your citizens to our shores after Brexit. We’ll continue to buy your goods, sell you ours and the 500,000 Brits who visit Malta every year will continue to holiday in your beautiful country. Brexit is far from the end of our relationship – it is simply a new chapter in it.
There’s something very special about the UK-Malta relationship that we must make sure we preserve. We share so many aims and values and our histories are closely intertwined. Our ties run deep both at a bilateral level and internationally, including through our membership of the Commonwealth. Brexit will not change this; indeed, I expect us to forge even closer links in the coming months and years.
I hope this offer demonstrates the fair and serious way we intend to conduct these negotiations, and the deep and special partnership we now want with Malta and the EU.
David Davis is British Secretaryof State for exiting the EU.