No-deal Brexit plans set

High Priority

What is the Brexit news? Bulgaria has published plans that would administer the status of U.K. nationals under a no-deal Brexit.

Key Points:

• Reregistration period. If the U.K. leaves the EU without a withdrawal deal, U.K. nationals and their families currently residing in Bulgaria will have the opportunity to maintain their current status. A special procedure of reregistration (“preregistratsia”) will be introduced and available until Dec. 31, 2020. U.K. nationals and their family members will need to submit their reregistration applications in person at the Migration Office or at one of the local police stations. They will need to include supporting documents currently required for EU Residence Certificate applications.
• Residence permits.After the reregistration, the authorities will first issue a temporary residence permit and then, approximately a month afterward, a residence permit valid for five years and renewable. The application fee will be the same as the fee for the EU Residence Certificate applications.
• Non-EU family members. Non-EU family members will be covered under the same “reregistration” period and will be able to retain their status.
• New arrivals. K nationals arriving in Bulgaria after Brexit will be considered third-country nationals and will fall under the scope of the provisions of the Law of Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria (currently under revision).

BAL Analysis: The U.K. is set to leave the European Union and the U.K. Parliament has yet to pass a withdrawal agreement. Although the EU granted the U.K. a Brexit extension, it is still possible that it will leave the EU without a deal. Bulgaria’s plan provides some certainty to non-EU family members of U.K. nationals, as they will retain their current status until Dec. 31, 2019 and will be able to apply for an alternative permit type in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network partner Matrix Relocations in Bulgaria. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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