All EU migrants living in the UK will be allowed to stay following Brexit after an amnesty for those who have not already received permanent residency rights, it has been reported.
More than 80 per cent of the 3.6 million EU citizens who currently live in the UK will already have the right to remain by the time Britain leaves the European Union, according to official research.
The Home Office has learned that five in six EU migrants could not be legally deported and those who can will be offered an amnesty and be offered the opportunity to stay, the Telegraph has reported.
Current rules state that you receive permanent residency rights once you have lived in the UK for more than five years, which almost 2.9 million would have done by 2019 – the year Britain is set to leave the EU.
The proposals are yet to be confirmed but several Cabinet ministers have made assurances the plans will go ahead, according to the Telegraph.
Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, had previously claimed he would not guarantee EU citizens could stay in the UK as it was “one of our main cards” during negotiations with the rest of Europe.
The Government has come under attack from across the political spectrum for refusing to guarantee the status of EU migrants in the UK.
The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been accused by some of treating them like “bargaining chips” in the Brexit “divorce” deal negotiations.
The news comes a Ms May and the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, spoke at the Conservative Party conference calling for an immigration crackdown.
