Obie wrote:It is difficult to see how British Citizens could get a deal, where EU Citizens will need visa and work permits to visit, or work in the UK, whiles British Citizens will be allowed to live work and buy properties in their respective countries.
It seems a bit odd and outrageous to me. Perhaps it is just me, but i find it hard to imagine how any right and fair-minded person will think in this way.
Well, there are all sorts of asymmetries already. Many West Europeans get 30-day visa-free free entry to Thailand for tourist visits, but Thais need visas for the EU. What East Europeans get when they got to Thailand varies.
I think there are also asymmetries between the British Islands and the non-CTA EEA states, but I suspect they rarely matter.
The opinion question is biased by numbers. A few migrants doesn't matter - a large number is another matter. Free movement for citizens within Western Europe is generally acceptable - asymmetric movements are another matter. Now if our economy collapses, arguments of reciprocity will become more relevant. To get balanced responses, one would have to ask the question country by country, rather than lumping the rest of the EEA together. Otherwise, one risks getting answers about what Britons' rights should be w.r.t. France or Spain but answers about what Poles' or Romanians' rights should be w.r.t. the UK.
Restricting EEA visitors seems silly. However, past form suggests the government might be considering using work permits to control new arrivals, while allowing passports to be enough for existing EEA residents. Bang goes the effectiveness of using employers as Immigration Officers. The government reportedly loses £20 a head on UK-issued EEA residence documents, so I think the Home Office would rather not issue documents to all 3 million of them. (Such an approach should also store up future work for lawyers sorting out the under-documented who eventually find it hard to demonstrate the legality of their presence.)
