Brexit Withdrawal Agreement Rejected by UK Parliament Again

The situation

The UK parliament has once again rejected the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, which aimed to set the terms of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, despite assurances agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union late last night.

A closer look

Two further parliamentary votes are scheduled for this week:

• March 13, 2019: If the Withdrawal Agreement is rejected, the Prime Minister has promised that parliament would vote on whether to leave the European Union with no deal.
• March 14, 2019: If the vote is against leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement, there would be a vote on whether to request Article 50 to be extended and the date of the United Kingdom’s exit to be pushed back by a short period. If this is passed, the European Union would need to agree to the extension. If this happens, commentators expect that Brexit Day would be postponed from March 29, 2019 to June 2019. While some have suggested a longer delay, this would cause complications for European Parliamentary elections to be held May 23-26, 2019, where the United Kingdom currently has no plans to field candidates. However, the date could in theory be set for a later time, in which case there would be challenging issues for both the United Kingdom and European Union around European Parliamentary elections.

 

The dates and content of these votes are all at risk of change with little or no notice.

Impact

• Employers. Employers are advised to set up contingency plans in case of a no-deal Brexit on March 29, 2019.
• EU nationals in the United Kingdom. Eligible EU nationals and their family members are advised to register under the public pilot of the EU Settlement Scheme, which will be effective in both a deal and no-deal scenario.
• UK nationals in Europe. Political commitments have been made in the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland that UK nationals will be able to continue living and working in the country where they currently reside. Current residence permit and registration requirements should be met to maximise post-Brexit rights and UK nationals should look out for any additional processes that may be required after Brexit.

 

Looking ahead

Fragomen will be closely monitoring the results and providing commentary and analysis for our clients throughout the week.

Brexit has been an incredibly complex and uncertain political issue that carries risks to your business. Please contact a Fragomen immigration professional for assistance in planning contingency arrangements in a single project.

For more information, please visit Fragomen's dedicated Brexit site, which contains news, FAQs, and analysis/commentary in the form of blogs, videos, webcasts and events.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].