As expected, the Prime Minister has triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, beginning the United Kingdom's exit process from the European Union. Any proposed legislation will not come into effect until the exit process is complete.

Whats Next:

• There will be a controlled and managed immigration system so that the United Kingdom continues to attract the brightest and best foreign workers.
• An early priority will be to guarantee the rights of EU citizens already living in Britain, and the rights of British nationals in other EU Member States as early as possible.
  
• The United Kingdom will seek to ensure that workers' rights are fully protected, maintained, and further built upon.
• The United Kingdom plans to maintain the common travel area with the Republic of Ireland.

What This Means for Employers and Foreign Nationals

The United Kingdom will continue to fulfil its responsibilities as an EU Member State while it is a member of the European Union, and any proposed legislation will not come into effect until the exit process is complete. This suggests that free movement will not end in the short term.

Though the United Kingdom intends to remain an open and tolerant country, there will likely be stricter measures that will control the number of immigrants entering the United Kingdom. For more information on this stance, please see Fragomen's Brexit White Paper.

Fragomen will issue updates on Brexit as developments occur. For more information, please visit Fragomen's dedicated Brexit site, which contains news, FAQs, and analysis/commentary in the form of blogs, videos, webcasts and events.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to londoninfo@fragomen.com.

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