EU Exit – time to take action
Following the agreement of the post-Brexit trade deal, businesses should act to avoid interruption to operations and understand the opportunities presented.
Freedom of Movement has ended with effect from 1 January 2021 and the UK-EU trade deal struck has not provided for this to continue in any modified form. Therefore, there will be additional considerations you will now need to make when you are engaged in business activities and deliver services in the EU (and vice versa). The parties to the deal have agreed:
The Withdrawal Agreement remains in place, protecting the rights of EU citizens and UK nationals resident prior to 31 December 2020, and the provisions of the Agreement do not change that.
The UK Government has already moved to implement commitment made in the Agreement with a statement of changes being laid before Parliament on 31 December to amend the UK’s Immigration Rules with immediate effect.
In planning future travel between the UK and the EU you and your employees should be aware of the following:
As the European Parliament has not yet ratified the agreement there is not yet clear guidance from the EU member states on how they will seek to implement the terms of agreement into EU / domestic law.
Think about your business travel programme. If your business activities / service delivery requires you to send people to the EU (or from the EU to the UK) you will need to consider what form of immigration permission is required. If they will be working you need to consider the time and cost of obtaining a work permit or think about restricting their activities and / or providing services differently.
Contractual service suppliers and independent professionals should speak to their UK final consumers and ensure they are aware of the new time limitations. It is also recommended that you seek further guidance to establish whether your sector qualifies for these extended time periods.
UK based service suppliers and independent professionals providing services to the EU and Switzerland should also seek further guidance to ensure they are aware of any reciprocal arrangements being put in place to temporarily govern the movement of natural persons to supply services under the terms of the agreements.
Our immigration team at Mazars are here to help you plan for the coming months and can provide support with your business travel programme and in understanding how the UK – EU trade deal could affect your business. If you have any questions or queries relating to anything in this update, please get in touch via the button below.
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