Australians set to miss out on visa-free work rights under a UK Brexit trade deal

Australians are set to miss out on being able to work in the United Kingdom without the need for a work visa under a new trade deal.

The UK is set to leave the European Union by the end of January following Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resounding election victory last month fought over Brexit.

His government is set to pursue a bilateral free trade deal with Australia, that would eliminate import tariffs.

The UK is set to leave the European Union by the end of January following Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resounding election victory last month fought over Brexit

Such a deal, however, would be unlikely to give Australians the right to live and work in the UK longer-term without a visa, like they do when travelling to New Zealand.

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has confirmed Australia would not be pushing for special work rights as part of trade negotiations. 

‘We’re not into full negotiating mode and we will have to see what the UK aspires to,’ he told Nine newspapers in London.

‘But noting that work rights and movement of people in the UK has been a big part of the European Union debate, I would be surprised if complete liberalisation around migration and labour rights was on their agenda.’ 

University of New South Wales trade economist Tim Harcourt said it was better to separate the issues of work visas and import tariffs when negotiating a free trade agreement.

‘The FTA should be more focused on bread-and-butter trade issues, market access,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 

Under existing arrangements, Australians can visit the UK for six months as a tourist without a visa.

A visa, however, is required to do paid or unpaid work. 

European foreigners working visa-free in the UK was a major factor in the leave campaign securing 51.9 per cent of the vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum –  ending a four-decade membership of the EU. 

Until 1967, Australians still carried British passports.

The UK’s departure from the European Union would be unlikely to to give Australians the right to live in the UK without a visa, like they do when travelling to New Zealand (pictured are Australian ex-pats at The Church nightclub in London)

During that decade, the likes of the late write Clive James, comedian Barry Humphries and feminist pioneer Germaine Greer were among a bevy of Australian ex-pats who made a name for themselves in London.

From Federation in 1901 until the mid-1960s, Great Britain was Australia’s biggest trading partner until it moved to join the European Economic Community.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has confirmed Australia would not be pushing to special work rights as part of trade negotiations

The UK was Australia’s eighth biggest trading partner in 2018 with a market share of just 3.2 per cent, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade data showed.

China, by comparison, was Australia’s biggest, two-way trading partner with a market share of 25.2 per cent, ahead of Japan (10.1 per cent), the United States (8.7 per cent), South Korea (4.8 per cent), Singapore (3.8 per cent), India (3.6 per cent) and New Zealand (3.4 per cent).

Australia is party to 11 free trade deals that eliminate import tariffs between trading partners.

Bilateral arranagements have been signed with New Zealand (1983), Singapore (2003), the US (2005), Thailand (2005), Chile (2009), Malaysia (2013), South Korea (2014), Japan (2015) and China (2015).

Separate multilateral arrangements were made with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2010 and the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2018.