Brexit rules: Great Britain prohibits European Union citizens from entering the country

Due to new immigration rules since Brexit, British authorities have already denied entry to many European Union citizens into the United Kingdom. Among them are also Germans.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the German Embassy in London is “aware of a low number one number of cases in which German citizens were temporarily detained at the airport after entering the country.”

She added that those affected, who provided a marital job as the reason for entry, were released after several hours on the condition that they leave the UK within a few days. However, there are no known cases in which “Germans have been held for a longer period or placed in a deportation center”.

The Politico online portal reported at least 30 people, including Germans. Some EU citizens have been held for several days in custody. The UK Home Office does not want to comment specifically. “The citizens of the European Union are our friends and our neighbors and we want them to stay,” the authority in London said upon request.

The ministry referred to the so-called EU Settlement Plan, which aims to ensure that EU citizens who lived in Great Britain before December 31, 2020, have pretty much the same rights as they were before Brexit. These include, for example, the right to live and work in the country and use government health services. Citizens can apply until the end of June.

“For those who were not residing here prior to that date, we need – as the public expects – legal evidence to live and work in the UK,” the ministry said. One of the UK government’s goals for Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit has been to halt freedom of movement.

Since January, people who are new to the country and who want to work there mostly have to apply for a visa. For young people who want to take on jobs as interns, spouses or speakers, the requirements are difficult to fulfill.