Message from Ambassador Knott to UK nationals in Poland
Ambassador Jonathan Knott recorded a special message to UK nationals in Poland updating them about the UK exit from the EU.
Good morning, happy New Year.
I am Jonathan Knott, the British Ambassador in Poland, and I thought at the beginning of 2019 this was a good moment to update British citizens living here in Poland about Brexit and what to expect after 29 March.
We in the embassy, in government and around Europe, are continuing to work with our EU colleagues to finalise the deal, a withdrawal agreement, a future relationship which the UK will have with the EU.
If we make that agreement, then the rights of the British citizens here in Poland are quite well defined. You can find them at the websites which are noted here.
But of course, while we work and strive to get that agreement and that’s the basis on which we are making our plans, it would be irresponsible not to think of the alternative scenario – a scenario where there is no deal. So we are also looking at how we can help preserve the rights of British citizens here in Poland, should that be the case.
On the UK side, Mrs May has already said that she wants to preserve the rights of EU citizens in the UK and helpfully, Polish Prime Minister, Mr Morawiecki, has said that he wants to do exactly the same here in Poland.
What we need to do now and what we are doing now is talking with the Polish government about exactly what the no deal scenario would look like for British citizens’ rights here in Poland.
We are talking with government officials regularly, we are bringing people from London to talk with Polish officials as well, so we can be as precise as possible for you, British residents, about what you can expect in that no deal scenario.
We don’t have those details at the moment, and I can’t offer you that clarity yet.
What I will do is promise you that as soon as we get better clarity we will invite British citizens to events where we can hear your concerns, where we can outline what we think the likely scenarios are, the sorts of promises which the Polish Government are making when it comes to the no deal scenario.
We will invite the Polish Government themselves to come and to talk to the British community.
I can’t be sure exactly when this is going to be except to tell you that we will do that as soon as we possibly can. But in the meantime, I really strongly recommend that you visit the websites below, which have the very latest information on what you as British citizens in an EU country can expect. I also really urge you to sign up for our email alerts, through which we’ll get the very latest news to you direct, to really make sure you know the very latest.
Thank you very much.
Useful links
UK nationals in the EU: essential information
EU exit information for UK nationals in the absence of a withdrawal agreement