British Prime Minister Theresa May has set out what she calls a "fair deal" for EU citizens living in Britain, saying in her first test of negotiating strength she did not want anyone to have to leave because of Brexit or to split up families.
Outlining the five main principles of her "fair and serious offer", May told other EU leaders at a summit in Brussels that she wanted to offer certainty to EU citizens about their future in Britain, again using a softer tone in her approach to Brexit.
But while her five principles go some way to ease concerns of the roughly 3 million EU nationals in Britain, their leaders will no doubt want to see more detail and may query the lack of a firm cut-off date for any changes to immigration rules - the EU is insisting on no changes until Britain leaves in 2019.
And her reduced stature, after losing her parliamentary majority in a June 8 election, among leaders who have made clear that they are more concerned about the future of the EU than Britain's departure, could see her on the back foot.
"The prime minister tonight set out details of the rights and status EU citizens in the UK will enjoy after Brexit - vowing to give them reassurance, and to make them a priority in negotiations," a senior British government source said.
"The PM said the UK's position represented a fair and serious offer - and one aimed at giving as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the UK, building careers and lives, and contributing so much to our society."
May told leaders she wanted to offer certainty by saying no EU citizens in Britain lawfully would be asked to leave at the time of Brexit, and that all EU citizens lawfully in the country at the point of Brexit would be able to regularise their status.
She would also offer any EU citizen resident for five years - at some cut-off date - the opportunity to get settled status, a new category which would treat them as if they were British citizens for healthcare, education, benefits and pensions.
Those who by then had less than five years residency would be allowed to build up to five years to obtain that status. The government will also offer a grace period of most likely up to two years to allow people to regularise their status so that "no one will face a cliff edge", she said.
In a nod to the million or more Britons living on the continent, she said that: "Reciprocity was, of course, vital."
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