European Union citizens arriving in Britain during a post-Brexit transition period will be able to apply for indefinite leave to stay in the country but will not automatically be able to bring their families with them, the government said on Wednesday. Last month, Prime Minister Theresa May charted a collision course with Brussels by saying that people arriving during the
transition period would be treated differently from those who had come to Britain before it leaves the EU on March 29 2019. A document published on the government's website set out a system which would give EU citizens arriving after Britain leaves the bloc, but before the end of the so-called implementation period, the chance to remain long enough to apply for indefinite leave to stay.
But their right to be joined by families after the implementation period would then be governed by British, rather than EU law - effectively allowing for a tighter regime than the current EU system, which grants family members entry rights automatically. The rights of those arriving during the implementation period would be defined in British law and interpreted solely through the UK courts, Britain's Home Office, or interior ministry, said. British judges will not be able to refer questions of interpretation to the European Court of Justice.
Curbing immigration was a key reason Britons voted to leave the EU in 2016, following a large influx of EU citizens, especially from poorer countries in eastern Europe.
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