No-Deal Brexit: British Migrants with the Most to Lose

Brexit will have dramatically different effects on the Britons living in the European Union’s remaining 27 countries—from the roughly 285,000 in Spain to the mere 280 or so in Latvia. Three groups are particularly vulnerable if Britain leaves without a deal: Recent arrivals with fewer than five consecutive years of residency, especially if they are economically inactive and do not have private health insurance; seasonal residents who only spend part of the year living in an EU country, and are frequently unregistered; and early retirees who are not yet eligible for pensioner S1 coverage but may not have private health coverage. With British politicians still unable to plot a clear course on exit from the European Union, some EU countries have made detailed contingency plans for the United Kingdom crashing out without a deal. Other countries have not. While Britons of all stripes resident in the EU-27 could face serious challenges post-Brexit, greater care should be taken to protect those most at risk. This infographic examines those at-risk populations.