May Offers Plan for Europeans to Stay in Britain After Brexit
By JAMES KANTERJUNE 22, 2017
BRUSSELS — Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain vowed on Thursday to protect the rights of millions of citizens
of other European Union countries who are living in Britain after the country withdraws from the bloc.
You may say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one." Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands, had a far tougher message, saying
that in order to avoid extensive economic damage, Britain needed to accept the jurisdiction of the European court and to go on allowing citizens of other European Union countries to live and work freely in Britain.
She said she wanted to give "as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the U.K., building careers
and lives and contributing so much to our society." More than three million citizens of other European Union countries live in Britain, while more than one million Britons live in the other 27 nations.
European Union officials have said they want Britain to guarantee their citizens’ rights
to live in Britain right up to the date of withdrawal, or Brexit as it is known.
Five years’ residency is normally required to qualify to stay in Britain indefinitely,
but Mrs. May offered on Thursday to allow a "grace period" of up to two years after the cutoff for people who had moved to Britain more recently.
The date must fall sometime between March 29, 2017, the day Mrs. May formally notified the union of its intention to withdraw,
and the day the withdrawal actually takes effect — two years after the notice was given, barring an extension.
