Reader question: If Britons are already resident in one EU country, can they move to another?

This question is one of several similar queries The Local has received recently, as British nationals get to grips with new restrictions on travel and life in Europe.

EU membership and freedom of movement had previously allowed Britons to move abroad to live, work, and retire without the need for visas.

This had also allowed British nationals to then move freely from one EU member state to another.

But that is no longer the case, after British PM Boris Johnson and his government decided to end freedom of movement, including onward from one EU country to another.

Simply put, this means a British national wanting to move from one EU country to another would now need to apply for a long-stay or residency visa - in exactly the same way as if they were moving from the UK to the EU for the first time.

This is because rules are based on your citizenship, rather than on the country you have residency in.

So moving from one EU country to another, while still possible, is now more complicated.

READER QUESTION: Can Brits stay more than 90 days in the EU if they have a spouse with an EU passport?

For example, a British citizen now resident in France would not be able to move to Germany without going through the process for visas, because the freedom they used to leave the UK in the first place has ended.

Each EU country will have its own requirements for new residents. Italy, for example, has from January 1st 2021 introduced a new long-stay visa for British nationals hoping to move to the country.

No visa will be needed to stay in the EU or the wider Schengen zone for under 90 days in every 180 day period, but anyone planning a longer stay, or to do paid work, will have to apply for one.