BCC letter to Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the immigration status of EU citizens living and working in the UK

16th October 2017

Following the first meeting of the EU Exit Business Advisory Group on Wednesday, 13 September, Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the immigration status of EU citizens living and working in the UK.

Since the referendum, the Chambers have repeatedly called on the government to give an unconditional guarantee to all EU citizens in the UK. We know, through our survey work that many businesses have already lost key members of staff, and other employees have indicated that they intend to leave the UK, due to the uncertainty over their immigration status. At a time of near full employment and the skills gap facing firms at all levels, the potential loss of existing EU employees in many firms would have a significant impact on UK productivity and growth. Below is both the letter to the Chancellor and his response, dated 6 October 2017. 17-10-06 Chancellor Response on EU Citizens 17-09-29 Chancellor Letter - EU Citizens (AS) The Chancellor's response should give some assurances to EU citizens currently living in the UK, particularly those that arrived before the triggering of Article 50 on 29 March 2017. These EU citizens will be able to stay until they have the five years' residence to apply for UK settled status.