On Wednesday, the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, triggered Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This begins a two year process at the end of which the UK will no longer be a member of the European Union. I know that there are many students, families and staff at BISB who will have questions about what this means for the future.
Many of the questions you have will only be answered during the course of negotiations on the UK’s exit from the EU and the shape of the future relationship between the UK and the remaining EU.
But it is important to note that triggering Article 50 has made no immediate difference to the rights and obligations that EU nationals, including British citizens, currently enjoy. So if you are British and living in Hungary you can continue to attend Hungarian schools and universities, work or be self-employed, access Hungarian healthcare and access your UK pension while living here. If you (or friends and family) are EU nationals who live in the UK, the same applies for you. You will retain those rights until the day that the UK actually leaves the EU. The same applies for businesses, which can continue to trade freely between the EU and UK.
As the British Prime Minister has said, securing the rights of UK citizens living in other EU countries and EU nationals living in the UK after Brexit is a top priority for Britain in the negotiations. We want to secure early agreement on this to give those living and working in other member states some certainty.
There is certainty already for EU students planning to start university studies in the UK in September 2017. They will continue to pay fees at the same level as resident British students and be eligible for student loans for the full duration of their courses.
As more information becomes available, it will be published on the gov.uk website and on the British Embassy’s Facebook page (UKinHungary). You can also follow us on Twitter (@UKinHungary)
by Ben Luckock, Head of Policy, British Embassy and BISB parent.