EU citizens living in the UK will be allowed to stay following Brexit. An amnesty for those who have not already received permanent residency rights, is being rolled out however.
Although the proposals are yet to be confirmed, several Cabinet ministers have made assurances the plans will go ahead, the Telegraph reported.
More than two-thirds of EU citizens will have the right to remain by the time Britain leaves the European Union. Some 3.6 million of them currently reside in the UK.
The Home Office says that five in six EU passport holders can not be legally deported, but those who can, will now be offered an amnesty, according to the report in the Telegraph.
Foreigners receive permanent residency rights once they 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 European Union.
Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, had previously claimed EU citizens could expect no guaranttes to stay in the UK. Fox said it would “one of our main cards” during negotiations with Europe, but the Tory government headed by Prime Minister, Theresa May, has been accused of treating EU citizens like “bargaining chips”.
The Government has come under attack from all sides of the political isle for refusing to guarantee the status of EU citizens living in the UK after the Brexit “divorce”.