Asked by: Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what his policy is on protecting the existing rights of British citizens residing in Switzerland after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that safeguarding the rights of UK and EU citizens, including EEA and Swiss nationals, is our first priority in negotiations. The UK’s published policy paper, ‘Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU’, set out our offer on citizens’ rights to the EU and stated that we would discuss similar arrangements with Switzerland and the non-EU EEA states of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (collectively referred to as ‘the EFTA states’ in the publication). We have already commenced constructive official-level scoping talks with all four states on citizens' rights.