You are British and you’re asking yourself how the Brexit will impact you? Here are 5 practical consequences to monitor.

The Brexit impact

Whether you live in the United Kingdom or in a European country, if you’re a British citizen, quite a few aspects of your life may soon be completely changed by Brexit. How exactly? Here are some of them:

(Need a refresher on Brexit? here’s everything you need to know about Brexit!)

1. Visas

This is probably going to be the most immediate and tangible consequence of the UK leaving the European Union. Even though the UK has never technically been part of the Schengen area, a simple ID card has always been enough to travel to European countries. As a matter of fact, only 44 countries out of 219 require UK citizens to procure Visas before going. If the UK leaves the EU however, that number could go up by 27.

2. Travel

British citizens should also be prepared to have to spend more money to travel to the main continent, for a couple of reasons. The most obvious being that European airline companies have the right to operate freely between every European country. Obviously, the UK won’t have that advantage anymore if its companies stop being, well, European. However, there’s also the fact that the pound has been losing value since the Brexit vote, and as such, UK citizens’ purchasing power in other currencies is dropping.
Not to mention the harmonization of cell phone costs when traveling, or the rules allowing European citizens to be paid back if their flight is canceled.

3. Jobs

Even though Brexit supporters have promoted the salvation of jobs during the campaign, the fact is, leaving the EU will probably make many companies outsource their production. Especially when it comes to banks.
Right after the vote, companies such as JP Morgan had already stated that they could move as much as 4000 jobs to the EU, while Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs both think to move between 1000 and 1600.

4. Erasmus Students

Erasmus is a program that allows European students to have an easier time moving between countries, and with cheaper costs. Granted, the Prime Minister had stated back in December 2017 that the UK would try to remain in the Erasmus program at least until 2020, but no one knows what will happen afterward.

5. Geography

The UK leaving the EU actually causes many problems when it comes to geography. In particular, there is the unresolved issue of Gibraltar: an island off to the coast of Spain belonging to the UK. The UK has denied Spain the right to decide what will happen to it, so tensions are likely to rise.
And of course, there’s the matter of Northern Ireland. For the few thousand people who regularly travel between Northern Ireland, Ireland and the UK, Brexit is a huge cause for concern.

Thankfully, at least one matter has been pretty much resolved: the matter of expats. Last December, the EU and the UK have agreed to have expatriates currently living in the UK or in the EU keep most of their current rights, even after the Brexit. However, for those who want to become expatriates after March 29^th, the situation is much more ambiguous.