The Impact of Brexit on the Free Movement of Persons.

• Author: Tuttle, Myrna El Fakhry
• Position: Special Report Globalization

Citizens of the European Union (EU) are allowed to live and work, without special formalities, in the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA includes the EU's 28 Member States as well as Switzerland and three non-EU countries--Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This is what we call "free movement of persons".

The 1957 Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community (ECC) (replaced by the EU). It created a common market based on free movement of people, goods, capital and services.

The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht created the EU and established freedom of movement and residence for persons in the EU. In 2004, the EU adopted Directive 2004/38/EC, on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU. Then, in 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon and the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) confirmed the right to freedom of movement.

Free movement law means that:

... EU citizens do not require a visa in order to come to the UK. Those coming to the UK are not subject to rules on English language proficiency. The exclusion of an EU citizen must be justified on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health. (See: Brexit: what impact on those currently exercising free movement rights? ("Brexit Paper") at p 7).

EU citizens who reside legally for a continuous period of five years in a Member State other than their own acquire the right of permanent residence in their host state. EU citizens acquire this right automatically. They do not need to apply for it. (See Brexit Paper at p 7).

Europeans realized that freedom of movement was the EU's major achievement and rated it above peace, the single currency and student exchanges. According to Eurostat data, at the end of 2017, 3.8% of EU citizens (17 million people along with 1.4 million commuters) resided or worked in Member States other than those of which they are citizens--up from 2.5% in 2007.

The United Kingdom (UK) joined the EEC in 1973 and the EU in the 1990s. But unlike other EU countries, the UK never accepted that its institutions be under the European control. For this reason, the UK did not join either the Schengen Area, which removes internal border checks, nor the common currency.

On June 23, 2016, the UK held a referendum to decide whether it should leave or stay in the EU. Leaving won by 52% to 48%. More than 30 million people voted, and 17.4 million people voted for withdrawal from the EU. The UK's possible exit from the EU...