Post-Brexit EU Access Strategy
A distinguished British family office, managing over £300 million in diversified assets across the United Kingdom, approached Broadment following Brexit to restore European Union residency rights for all family members. The principals, whose business interests spanned London, Frankfurt, and Milan, required immediate Schengen access to facilitate ongoing commercial operations, board appointments, and educational arrangements for their children at European universities without visa restrictions or ninety-day stay limitations.
Challenge
The family needed EU residency without relocating their primary tax residency from the United Kingdom, as their business operations and wealth structures remained firmly anchored in London post-Brexit.
Existing residency programs imposed minimum physical presence requirements that conflicted with the family’s inability to spend extended periods outside the United Kingdom due to ongoing corporate governance obligations and board commitments.
The family’s high public profile in British business circles demanded complete discretion, as any public disclosure of EU residency planning could trigger unwanted media scrutiny or political commentary around Brexit relocation narratives.
Any program instability or policy change risked rendering the residency status ineffective for long-term EU access, undermining the core objective of restoring pre-Brexit mobility rights for business and family purposes across European jurisdictions.
Solution
Broadment structured a minimal-presence residency program in Greece, coordinating with local immigration authorities to secure waivers for reduced physical stay requirements based on the family’s substantial property investment and economic contribution.
Our legal team maintained the family’s UK tax residency throughout the process, coordinating with British tax counsel to ensure no permanent establishment triggers or dual residency complications arose from the EU permit acquisition.
We secured residency approval within fourteen weeks, issuing renewable five-year permits for all eight family members with full Schengen access and no ongoing physical presence obligations beyond annual compliance certification.
The family now operates freely across EU territories for business and education purposes while retaining their London tax base and public profile. Broadment continues to manage annual compliance filings and has structured renewal pathways to preserve EU access indefinitely without compromising their United Kingdom residency or business operations.
