Yahoo Finance Bankers promised special post-Brexit travel deal
Bankers have been promised special arrangements to allow them to move freely across Europe’s borders will be in place post-Brexit.
Workers in the financial services industry will not be subject to curbs on immigration after March 2019, Brexit secretary David Davis says.
The move goes some way to try to reassure the sector that London will remain a financial hub after Brexit.
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Davis told a meeting of about 700 investors, financiers and regulators that the government’s new immigration policy will aim to allow highly skilled workers to move around the continent.
For example, he said, a bank should be able to temporarily move an employee to an office in Germany or a lawyer visit a client in Paris without restrictions.
“Ensuring that the financial services sector can attract the talent it needs to thrive is also vital as we leave the EU,” Davis said.
“We want to ensure that our new partnership with the EU protects the mobility of workers and professionals.”
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One of the key factors behind UK voters’ decision to leave the European Union was thought to be a promise to “take back control of our borders” – to stop mass immigration.
But the knock-on effect has been dire warnings from particularly the financial service industry and agriculture of a drain in talent and on resources.
Davis said the government would introduce a new immigration bill next year setting out plans in more detail.
The finance industry has warned tens of thousands of jobs could be moved to the continent before or immediately after Brexit should the necessary reassurances not be given.
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The multi-billion Euro clearing sector has been highlighted as one major area under threat.
Davis also said Britain was looking to agree with the EU a transition deal, for “around two years” after Brexit day in March 2019, at or shortly after a European Council meeting in Brussels next month.
He added that he was “confident that in conversations about the future partnership we want with the EU, we will be able to achieve these objectives, together, and provide clarity and certainty to businesses working across Europe”.
