‘I am still not sure if myself and my children will be landlocked’



Kate, 49, project manager, has lived in the Netherlands for 17 years.

I am still not sure whether myself and my children will be landlocked or will be able to live our lives as we did before the vote. I only hope we can continue to plan and have the same aspirations as any other EU citizen in the EU. My children will probably get Dutch citizenship: I think that is a good thing as they would have so many rights and benefits as EU citizens.

Quick Guide What are Brexit options now? Four scenarios Show Staying in the single market and customs union The UK could sign up to all the EU’s rules and regulations, staying in the single market – which provides free movement of goods, services and people – and the customs union, in which EU members agree tariffs on external states. Freedom of movement would continue and the UK would keep paying into the Brussels pot. We would continue to have unfettered access to EU trade, but the pledge to “take back control” of laws, borders and money would not have been fulfilled. This is an unlikely outcome and one that may be possible only by reversing the Brexit decision, after a second referendum or election. The Norway model Britain could follow Norway, which is in the single market, is subject to freedom of movement rules and pays a fee to Brussels – but is outside the customs union. That combination would tie Britain to EU regulations but allow it to sign trade deals of its own. A “Norway-minus” deal is more likely. That would see the UK leave the single market and customs union and end free movement of people. But Britain would align its rules and regulations with Brussels, hoping this would allow a greater degree of market access. The UK would still be subject to EU rules. The Canada deal A comprehensive trade deal like the one handed to Canada would help British traders, as it would lower or eliminate tariffs. But there would be little on offer for the UK services industry. It is a bad outcome for financial services. Such a deal would leave Britain free to diverge from EU rules and regulations but that in turn would lead to border checks and the rise of other “non-tariff barriers” to trade. It would leave Britain free to forge new trade deals with other nations. Many in Brussels see this as a likely outcome, based on Theresa May’s direction so far. No deal Britain leaves with no trade deal, meaning that all trade is governed by World Trade Organization rules. Tariffs would be high, queues at the border long and the Irish border issue severe. In the short term, British aircraft might be unable to fly to some European destinations. The UK would quickly need to establish bilateral agreements to deal with the consequences, but the country would be free to take whatever future direction it wishes. It may need to deregulate to attract international business – a very different future and a lot of disruption.

I have worked so much abroad, and always in a very international environment, though I’m not fluent in Dutch yet. We were thinking of moving near Maastricht in a few years and it was definitely on our radar to move to Germany as I have to cross borders to Germany, Poland and France all the time for my work. Now we don’t know if we can do that. Will I need to get visas? The latest agreement means nothing has changed; we British citizens feel the least cared for group in the negotiations as nobody cares about us – not like the EU cares for EU nationals.

‘We are being ignored’



Ken Wood, 68, retired, has lived in France for four years.



I feel, like many, that we are being ignored. Agreements made regarding continuation of pension and health arrangements were only achieved because of EU pressure regarding their own citizens resident in the UK. Had that not happened I suspect we would have been given far worse status, possibly as bad as those who receive no pension uprating and no health cover.



There is still no clarity as to our overall status, from both a UK and EU perspective. Within the EU, it almost seems that different member states will decide their own attitude towards us. My primary concern is to our long-term status, particularly if my wife and I (she’s a Chinese citizen with a UK passport) wish to return to the UK in the future. The present government’s treatment of EU citizens in the UK leads one to suspect that immigration policy supersedes any other consideration.

‘We both wished to remain EU citizens so the only step left was to vote with our feet’

Rebecca, 27, photographic agent, has lived in Germany for 14 months.

We’ve been in a state of high alert since the Brexit process started, and while this agreement promises us a right to stay, it provides little to no detail and our rights are still going to be removed. My partner (also British) and I moved to Berlin as soon as we could after the Brexit vote: we both wished to remain EU citizens so the only step left was to vote with our feet. Having studied in Berlin on an Erasmus year and being fluent in German, it was the speeding up of an inevitable move anyway.

The latest agreement promises our right to stay now that we are here, but gives no detail as to how we will travel the EU, how we might work across borders and what our visa status will specifically be. As it stands, I’m still planning on applying for German citizenship as soon as I’m eligible in seven years’ time and will hope to regain my EU citizenship. We have different work situations (my boyfriend works freelance) and we are now looking into marrying to guarantee that, worst comes to worst, we stay together: not quite the romantic dream we’d always planned.

‘Our situation is different to those losing a right they’re not currently using’

Lloyd Stiles, 39, teacher, has lived in Austria for about 10 years.

I won’t trust anything until a final deal is made, but my biggest hope is that the freedom of movement I’ve used all my adult life is not taken away from me and my daughter. Those of us already using it and want to keep it should be allowed to do so: I’d love it if they created a special EU passport for Brits like me so I can keep access to both the UK and the EU because, like it or not, our situation is much different to those losing a right they’re not currently using.

My biggest fear is that Austria decides that my wife (who is a US citizen) won’t have her visa renewed in a few years’ time because she would no longer be married to an EU citizen, meaning I either have to become an Austrian (and possibly have issues going back to the UK) or worse, be forced to move to either the UK or US, which we deliberately chose to leave in the first place.



‘I may be forced to apply for Greek citizenship’



Valerie, 53, teacher, has lived in Greece for 20 years.



We’re a British family with two kids who have grown up here – initially having moved to Greece because of my husband’s job in aquaculture. We currently feel in limbo. I’m not sure why I should be penalised for making a contribution to British influence abroad (I teach in a British curriculum school where 99% of pupils head to the UK for further education!).

I don’t want to apply for Greek citizenship as none of us in the family are Greek, but I may be forced to in order to keep on working here without work permits etc. My two children will not now be able to live and work in Europe as I have been able to do, despite being born and raised as Europeans and learning the language. Many British teachers in Europe are probably long-term residents of their host country: Brexit is not a great advert for British education abroad and I’m generally not very optimistic about the future.

‘I don’t trust what the media or politicians are claiming’

Daniel Yeo, 27, freelancer; former civil servant, has lived in France for two years.



I was a second generation immigrant to the UK (I have Malaysian-Chinese parents) and we (myself my wife and our child) are now first generation immigrants to France, having moved for a better quality of life.

We should be reassured, but I don’t think lots of the news coming from the negotiations means anything until it’s all agreed. It’s really hard to know what’s actually going to happen – I don’t trust what the media or politicians are claiming. The reality of the negotiations is so much more complex.