How could Brexit affect expats?
The EU Referendum on June 23rd represented one of the biggest and most important decisions British people have had to make in decades, and expats are being directly impacted by the decision to leave.
We have conducted research and sought the opinion of experts in our network to create a number of articles and resources to help make sense of the debate, discussions and likely outcomes.
Expert opinion about EU Referendum
These are articles and opinions from experts in our network about the EU Referendum. While these cannot be claimed to be impartial, we have attempted to stick to the facts and information available to help people understand what the EU means to expats.
- British Expats would pay to retain individual membership to the EU after Brexit
- When is the best time to buy or sell a property post-Brexit?
- Expert insight into the factors affecting major financial decisions for expats in the aftermath of the EU Referendum result
- It’s a leave vote – but please don’t panic
- It's a leave vote. But please don't panic, people are on hand to try and help.
- How could Brexit affect UK pensions and QROPS?
- A detailed explanation of how Brexit could affect UK pensions and QROPS for expats and UK non-residents
- Expat investments post-Brexit
- What are the choices and risks for expats considering investment decisions in this post-Brexit world?
- What could Brexit mean for Sterling and Euro exchange rates?
- An overview of what could happen to GBP-EUR exchange rates if Britain was to remain or leave the EU
- EU Referendum: The biggest risk management decision you’ll ever make
- A detailed look at how risk should affect your decision in the EU Refendum
- How Brexit could affect British expats living in the EU
- A detailed investigation into the facts and evidence for what might happen to British expats if the UK were to leave the EU
- How do expats benefit from the UK remaining in the EU?
- A detailed explanation of the benefits British expats enjoy from the UK's continued EU membership.
- What could a Brexit mean to British and European expats?
- Insight into how expats in the UK and abroad might be affected by a vote to exit the EU
EU Referendum useful external resources
The following are a list of links to useful information that we have found useful when discussing the EU Referendum. Please note we are not responsible for the content or adverts on any external pages we link to
- BBC EU Referendum Reality Check
- BBC Reality Check gets to the facts behind the claims in the EU referendum campaign
- Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
- A briefing which provides an overview of migration to the UK from European Union (EU) member countries, evaluating data from the ONS as well as other sources.
- Letter to friends: this is why I will vote Remain in the referendum (LSE)
- The London School of Economics' Nicholas Barr explains in detail and with sources, why he will be voting remain
- Money Saving Expert blog on EU Referendum
- An overview of the EU Referendum vote from Money Saving Expert's Martin Lewis
- UK Governement EU Referendum
- Official microsite from the Government about the EU Referendum
- European Parliament Website
- The website of the European Parliament which has all the information about democracy in Europe
- European Union Website
- Official website of the European Union
- FullFact.org: EU Referendum
- An independent view on many political and economic debates, attempting to look beyond the various narratives.
- Square One Law: Blog on potential outcomes of Brexit
- A blog post which looks at the four most likely outcomes in the result of a "leave" vote
- EU referendum: Statement from Bank of England governor Mark Carney
- BBC article covering the Bank of England's response to Brexit
The UK's EU Membership in numbers
- £171m
Each week the UK pays the equivalent of £350m per week as an EU membership fee which is reduced to £171m after rebates and subsides are taken into account.
Source: European Parliament- £93.5m
The UK Treasury receives a rebate equivalent to £93.5m per week (27% of the UK membership fee) from the EU which it is free to spend on what it likes
Source: EU finances document from Gov.uk (pdf)- £85.5m
The UK receives the equivalent of £85.5m each week (24.5% of the UK's membership fee) from the EU in the form of subsides
Source: EU finances document from Gov.uk (pdf)- 73
There are 73 UK MEPs representing 12 areas of the UK elected by the British public. Each MEP earns (pre-tax) £98,556 per year, excluding expenses.
Source: European Parliament website (external)- £7.1bn
In April 2016, the UK had a trade deficit of £7.1bn with the EU (and £16bn globally). Total EU exports were £12bn and total EU imports were £19.1bn.
Source: HMRC (external)- 48%
48% of the UK's total trade is carried out with the EU. The UK imports from Germany were £5.2bn, from the US £3.4bn, Switzerland £3.4bn and China 2.7bn.
Source: HMRC (pdf)- -2,000
In 2015 there were 2,000 fewer immigrants to the UK than in 2014. Net migration increased by 20,000 to 333,000. 22,000 fewer people emigrated from the UK in 2015 than in 2014.
Source: Office for National Statistics (external)- 84%
84% of EU migrants came to the UK for job related reasons, and 60% of those had a definite job to go to.
Source: Office for National Statistics (external)- 330,000
Net migration (EU and non-EU) to the UK in 2015 was 330,000. 660,000 entered the UK, while 330,000 emigrated from the UK. Of those immigrants, 167,000 (25%) came for long term study, 308,000 (47%) came for work related reasons.
Source: Office for National Statistics (external)- 41%
Of the 660,000 migrants to the UK, only 270,000 (41%) were EU migrants.
Source: Office for National Statistics (external)- 2.1m
in 2015 there were 2.1m employed EU nationals living in the UK.
Source: Office for National Statistics (external)