All European Union (EU) nationals who are living in the UK will be allowed to stay in the country after Britain leaves the economic bloc, according to a media report on Saturday.
The UK Home Office has discovered, as part of internal research, that five in six could not be deported legally, says The Daily Telegraph.
There are at least 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK, more than 80 per cent of whom will have permanent residency rights by the time Britain leaves the union in early 2019, official research has concluded.
The remainder — more than 6,00,000 people — will be offered an amnesty, with several Cabinet ministers telling the newspaper that those citizens will be offered the right to stay permanently in a policy that may prove controversial.
Once an EU citizen has been in the UK for more than five years, they are given permanent residency rights.
Though Britain voted for Brexit in a referendum in June, their rights are likely to remain intact.
Home Office research has concluded that when Britain leaves the EU, just over 80 per cent of EU citizens in the UK would qualify for residency, said sources.
“The remaining people will, of course, be allowed to stay in the UK,” the source added.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has so far refrained from making an official commitment on this topic until Article 50 is triggered and the official process of Brexit is launched next year.
