A British flag is seen through a printed and ripped European Union flag in this illustration picture taken January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - The UK government will seek to end free movement as soon as possible if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, the UK Home Office said in a statement on Monday.

For a transitional period, citizens of the European Economic Area and their family members, including Swiss citizens, will be able to come to the UK for visits, work or study and will be able to enter the UK as they do now, the Home Office said in the statement. But to stay for longer than three months they will need to apply for European Temporary Leave To Remain. For stays longer than three years, EU citizens will have to apply under the new skills-based future immigration system, which will begin from 2021, the statement said.