"Brexit"
 

Now might be a good time to ask what thoughts people have on the possible exit of the UK from the EU. Will they vote to leave or to stay in ? Either way, what'll happen then ? What consequences might there be for Brit residents in Italy ? Any precautions one could take ? Will M & S still deliver ? etc

Re: "Brexit"
 

    I don't know what might happen to me in Italy, but yesterday I requested a passport application form from the Irish Embassy. For the sake of 80 Euro it won't do any harm to have another passport.  

Re: "Brexit"
 

I'm not worried - Brits were living here long before the EU ever existed.

Re: "Brexit"
 

I am a bit worried because as EU citizens we are usually on a par with Italian citizens, and I don't like the idea of becoming an extra-comunitario.

The whole Conservative Party campaign is based on the immigrant question, but they don't think about the rights of British citizens living in the EU, it's never even crossed their minds.

Anyway I hear this morning that many with big economic interests (including M&S Sancho!) are pushing to stay in so ...

Re: "Brexit"
 

The Bankers want us out. My solution would be the Icelandic one. Lock up all those bankers and throw the keys away.

Re: "Brexit"
 

The problem will be that Italy applies the law of reciprocity. So if the Uk say Italians cant have this or that, then it will be applied to Uk citizens in Italy.

Re: "Brexit"
 

It is possible that, as with many other parts of the world, British state pensions for Italian residents would be frozen. Not a very pleasant prospect for the poorer expats particularly if inflation reappears!

Re: "Brexit"
 

I would like to know who is entitled to vote in the referendum. British citizens resident in the UK only or British citizens who live abroad.
It will be very interesting if we can vote too.

Re: "Brexit"
 

Probably the same rules as for General Elections..you lose your right to vote if you've been out of the UK for 15 years. You basically have the same (non) rights as prisoners and illegal immigrants.

Re: "Brexit"
 

thats about it MarkRD - this will be the last thing Im allowed to vote in...

Re: "Brexit"
 

From BBC website:

Re: "Brexit"
 

I've just applied to https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote,
also to be able to vote by proxy (British citizen living overseas), this option is on the same site.
But I have only been out of the UK for 5 years.

Re: "Brexit"
 

Ok, so I qualify then with 13 years being an expat?

Re: "Brexit"
 

I would imagine so, you can only try!
I applied online, printed off the proxy vote application form. Now just waiting for forms to be posted out to me which obviously need to be returned by post. You need to get it sorted sooner than later, if you want to vote.

Re: "Brexit"
 

The UK press are a bit fixated on the pound dollar exchange rate probably because over the past couple of years the dollar has seen significant strength. ie a weak pound and strong dollar makes for bigger headline changes. Over the past three months, however, the pound has lost 7.5% of its value compared to the euro. Financial markets are currently pricing in a roughly 33% chance of an Out victory so in this event it would not be unrealistic to see the pound down by a further 15% to around 1.10. This is crudely where the likes of HSBC and JP Morgan's Brexit prediction rates are coming from. Personally, I think the analysis is quite reasonable so unless you are currently selling your home or moving back to the UK, it's difficult to see how most Brits will gain financially (at least for quite some time) from the Out vote winning.