Responding to the government's new position on EU migrants rights during the transition period, Prospect senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said:

“This announcement is long overdue and it is welcome that the Home Office has clarified that EU Nationals coming to the UK during the transition period will have the same initial rights as those who came before March 2019.

“However, the government is playing a risky game with key sectors of our economy by planning to introduce an income threshold for those who come to the UK during the transition period to bring their family here after the transition ends.

“There are more than 30,000 EU nationals working in British science and technology who earn less than £30,000 per year, according to ONS data, many of whom settle in the UK and bring their families to live here and contribute to British society.

“The government must ensure that the future of the STEM sector is not put at risk by a short-sighted ideologically driven policy that may deter talented EU workers coming to the UK in the future.”