Are you British and want to remain European? Here's how to retain your EU citizenship post Brexit

CHELMSFORD, U.K. - July 14, 2016 - PRLog -- Post Brexit many people are worried about the loss of their European citizenship, which gave them the freedom to move around and work wherever they pleased within the EEA. Of course, there are ways and means to bypass such situations. The UK is in a state of deep shock after Brexit and the outcome that was not expected by many.

Many are still mulling over the loss of their European citizenship along with which they also lost the ability to live and seek employment anywhere they pleased within the state. People with the entrepreneurial spirit could set up a business anywhere they wanted to before Brexit. People could also pursue their educational dreams or gain access to free healthcare while travelling abroad, which are all things of the past today.

Do you have Irish or any other Blood coursing through your Veins?

Based on the UK census reports close to 10% of the Britons have at least one grandparent who is of Irish descent. If you are lucky enough to figure in the 10% then you have the proverbial luck of the Irish, and citizenship is not a problem at all. Suffice that one grandparent is of Irish descent; it does not matter if neither of your parents is Irish, you don't have to actually move to Ireland.

You will get your Irish passport by post and once you have that you will automatically be an EU citizen. This gives you the right to freely move across all the member countries of the European Union. What's more is that Ireland allows dual citizenship; hence there is no question of you having to give up your British citizenship.

Pursue your higher education anywhere abroad

Although Britain does not favour too many foreign students studying in its universities, there are several other countries that welcome students with open arms. They want foreign or international students to stay in their country, even work there if they wish to, after completing their higher education.

If you happen to chose France as your destination for higher studies, you will need to stay there as a resident for a minimum period of 5 years before you can be granted citizenship. However, if you study in any of the universities in France, the 5-year period is reduced to 2 years. If you plan to do your masters degree in France, you can easily get naturalized and gain EU citizenship.

What's more advantageous is that the university fees in France are a lot cheaper when compared to the university fees in any British university. There are even courses in some French universities that are taught in English, hence one need not know or learn French.

Marrying an EU Citizen from any member country

For people who haven't tied the knot as yet, this is a great opportunity that brings several benefits along with a bride or bridegroom. Most of the EU member countries have a clause that allows anyone marrying their citizen to get citizenship automatically. Before you rush into matrimony do check where the prospective partner is from.  If he or she is from a country where you wouldn't want to settle as a citizen, then there is no point in taking it any further.

As far as France and the Netherlands are concerned, there is no hard and fast rule that you need to have lived there in order to apply for citizenship. Suffice that you are married to a citizen of that country, and will remain so for a few years. You need not even have visited the country prior to that.  In case the proposed bride or groom is living in the UK currently, you could get married in UK itself and then apply for citizenship after a few years.

Take advantage of Estonia's e-residency programme

In 2015 Estonia came out with its ambitious e-residency programme wherein people from anywhere in the world were allowed to sign up online itself to be eligible to get an Estonian Government ID that grants one residency under a special category. While you don't actually get Estonian citizenship, or the right to live in that country, you can apply for the e-residency if you have plans of relocating for business purposes. You can easily set up a company in Estonia, which is already an EU member country.

Buy your way into Cyprus with £2 million

This is probably by and far the easiest of all options. This colourful Mediterranean Island nation is keen on boosting its population and is inviting people from all over the globe to come and settle here. However, there is a price to pay – In order to gain Cypriot and EU citizenship you need to be prepared to shell out a cool €2.5 million. You can invest it in government bonds, some sort of financial assets, or put the money into an infrastructure development project.

Move to any EU member country and live for 5 years

The only other viable alternative is to move to any of the EU member countries and live there for a period of 5 years. That way you are eligible to apply for citizenship, though you will have to pick up a smattering of the local language and culture before you are granted full citizenship. Although Brexit is happening, it could take a couple of years for the formalities to fall in place. Meanwhile, it makes sense to make most of the freedom you still have to move around anywhere within the EU. However, if the host country finds you to be a useful citizen, the authorities will be quite unwilling to let you go.

Also you can find this Referendum Boosts Applications for British Citizenship: https://www.ukimmigrationcentre.co.uk/blog/referendum-boo...