Received: April 20th, 2017. Please note that I had also sent a similar letter to all local MEPs, hence Mr Dalton's reply.

Dear Mr Roemer,

Thank you for your email and for the very detailed report regarding yours and your family's circumstances. As the Conservative MEP responsible for correspondence from your area, I will respond on behalf of myself and Anthea McIntyre MEP.

I very much share your concerns and desire to avoid future situations such as those you describe, and you are correct that UK MEPs do have a part to play, particularly as they will vote on the final agreement between the UK and the EU. Additionally, I and my colleagues continue to meet regularly with both UK government ministers and European officials and will argue for as generous and wide an agreement on citizens rights as possible, which is also in our mutual economic interests, as well as being the right thing to do.

I personally share some of your concerns, as my wife is German and we would very much like to both live in the UK post Brexit. So I personally am aware of these issues and the uncertainty surrounding them. I can not however offer you any answers at this stage. The Uk government has made it clear that it is their aim to preserve the existing residency rights of EU citizens currently working and living in the Uk. However to date, the EU has refused to offer the same guarantees for Uk citizens living in the EU. However I am confident that both sides want the same outcome on this issue and I believe that the principle of this will be agreed soon after the negotiations begin. However, as you point out in your email, the issue is much more complex. Pension rights, welfare provisions, access to the NHS, rights of non EU spouses and family members, requirements for gaining indefinite leave to remain and citizenship all need to be addressed.

I would also suggest that it is worth talking to the German authorities with regards to the issue you raise regarding Germany's treatment of immigrants and in particular the fact that Germany does not allow dual nationality for non EU countries, which may also impact on German nationals living in the Uk post Brexit.

However, as I can not offer you any answers at the moment, particularly regarding the issues you raise concerning residency, work, social benefits, access to education, pension and citizenship, I believe such a matter needs to be raised directly with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. I will therefore be writing to him on your behalf.

As soon as I receive a response from the Secretary of State, I will be in touch with you.

Kind regards,

Daniel Dalton MEP