On 23 June 2016, a consultative referendum was held on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, resulting in a victory for the “Leave” campaign with 51.9% of the vote. On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom notified the European Council of its intention to leave the EU, formally invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
On 31 January 2020, the European Parliament approved the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, which entered into force on 1 February 2020, the date from which the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the Union. This Withdrawal Agreement safeguards the rights relating to healthcare, pensions, social security benefits, family reunification, and access to education of EU citizens residing in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2020.
On 30 December 2020, the EU and the United Kingdom signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which was provisionally applied from 1 January 2021 and entered into force on 1 May 2021.
During the transition period agreed by the parties (from 1 February 2020 to 31 December 2020), EU law as a whole continued to apply to and within the United Kingdom, even though it was no longer a member of the European Union. Consequently, EU rules on the free movement of EU citizens also continued to apply during the transition period. Those who arrived in the United Kingdom during the transition period therefore received the same treatment as those who had arrived before 1 February 2020 and enjoyed exactly the same rights. These rules have no longer applied since 1 January 2021 to EU citizens in the United Kingdom and to UK citizens in the EU.