White Paper and post-Brexit immigration

This sub-topic looks at the trajectory of structural changes to UK immigration policy from the end of the Brexit transition period. It covers the citizens’ rights settlement agreed with the EU and its domestic implementation, the initial post-Brexit immigration system which applied to both EEA and non-EEA citizens which was put into place by the previous Conservative government, and the immigration White Paper ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ published by the Labour government on 12 May 2025 which sets out significant changes it intends to introduce over the course of this Parliament.

Citizens’ rights

On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its European Union (EU) membership. A 51.9% majority voted in favour of the UK leaving the EU (‘Brexit’). On 29 March 2017, the UK government gave formal notification of the UK's intention to withdraw from the EU under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). As of exit day (11 pm on 31 January 2020), the UK is no longer an EU Member State.

European Economic Area (EEA)/Swiss citizens (termed ‘EEA citizens’ for these purposes) and their family members ...

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Immigration News
View Immigration by content type :

Most recent White Paper and post-Brexit immigration content

Practice notes

Employment Rights Bill—trackerThis Practice Note provides a summary of the provisions of the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) and tracks the progress of...
13th Jun
Practice notes

Labour Government workplace reforms—trackerThis Practice Note tracks the progress and detail of the employment-related Bills announced in the King’s...
13th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—background to the post-Brexit immigration system [Archived]This Practice Note is a compilation of links to News Analysis and key...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—Migration Advisory Committee report on the impact of EEA migration to the UK [Archived]The decision of the UK to leave the European...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Citizens’ rights of residence in the withdrawal agreement—scope, rights and redressThis is the second of two linked Practice Notes covering the rights...
12th Jun
Practice notes

What does IP completion day mean for Immigration?11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the implementation period put in place to enable...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—citizens’ rights [Archived]This Practice Note sets out a summary of the background relating to the citizens’ rights aspects of the...
12th Jun
Practice notes

The post-Brexit immigration system: what does it look like? [Archived]This Practice Note was last updated on 16 March 2021. It provides a high-level...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Citizens' rights of residence in the withdrawal agreement—general principles, enforcement and related issuesThis is the first of two linked Practice...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit legislation trackerThis Practice Note tracks the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of the legislative project associated with the...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit legislation tracker 2017–19 [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. It tracks the progress of UK...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Brexit—key legislation explainedBackground—EU law in the UKPre-exit dayThe European Communities Act 1972 (ECA 1972) was introduced and intended to...
12th Jun
Practice notes

Immigration White Paper 2025—summary, tracker and resourcesThe White Paper ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ was published on 12 May...
5th Jun
Q&As

In the context of Brexit, what is meant by the ‘transition or implementation period’?The term ‘transition or implementation period’ is used in the...
4th Jun
Practice notes

UK and EU cross-border law enforcement and criminal justice co-operation under the TCA [Archived]Archived: This Practice Note is archived and no...
3rd Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—right to work checksThis Practice Note seeks to address some of the uncertainty surrounding employer right to work checks on European...
3rd Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—citizens’ rights pre-Phase 1 agreement [Archived]On 23 June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its European Union (EU) membership. A...
3rd Jun
Practice notes

Brexit materials—the May government’s White Paper [Archived]A white paper entitled ‘The UK’s future skills-based immigration system’, outlining the UK...
3rd Jun

Popular documents