With Brexit due to finally be concluded, there are still some issues to be cleared up. One of the major points concerning Brexit that many people are concerned about is the situation of British citizens living abroad. Will Brits living in California be severely affected by this change?

Their Ability to Travel

The first big issue to consider with Brexit is the ability of UK citizens to travel. After all, one of the key aspects of the country’s exit from the European Union (EU) is the fact that freedom to travel around the different European countries will now be greatly reduced.

In terms of the US, Brits can travel here for up to 90 days under the US Visa Waiver Programme that the EU is signed up to. However, the two countries already have a similar agreement that should ensure that the UK’s citizens can carry on traveling to the US like before. Anyone already living in the US should be completely unaffected by Brexit.

According to the Henley Passport Index, the UK has one of the world’s most powerful passports, opening up the doors to 185 international destinations. Brexit will mean that UK citizens can’t live and work in EU countries as easily as before, but it seems unlikely to affect the ability of British passport holders to travel freely around the rest of the world.

One big issue that remains is whether they will need to change their passports, which currently mention the EU on them. The British Consulate General in Los Angeles doesn’t offer a passport service, so they may need to use the online service to ask for new passports if an immediate switch to a new model is required.

Will Their Spending Power Drop?

Another key point about Brexit is how big an effect it will have on the British Pound and its value against the US Dollar and other major currencies. This is a particularly important concern for anyone who lives in California but receives transfers from the UK as their main source of income. Maybe they have investments or stocks in the UK or receive a British pension, for example.

The value of GBP dropped significantly when the Brexit vote result was announced in 2016, largely due to the feelings of uncertainty that this brought to the UK economy. Since then, it has partially recovered the losses but is still below the 1.48 or so that it was at when the vote was carried out in June 2016.

The issues surrounding Brexit aren’t the only factors that determine how well the British currency will fare against the American equivalent. For instance, in times of economic turmoil, investors will tend to move their money into Dollars as this currency is considered a safe haven.

Yet, if we focus solely on the implications of Brexit, we can see that they could cause GBP to suffer if leaving the EU causes them to move to poorer trade deals in general. At the time of writing, it is still too early to tell if this will be the case.

What Should California Residents with Money in GBP Do?

The best approach would appear to be following the money markets to see how the GBP/USD trading pair evolves. Right now, even the experts are uncertain what will happen next, as there simply isn’t enough information available yet to analyze any possible price swings.

The Top Rated FXBrokers website mentions that the forex market is “constantly fluctuating” and can change on a daily or even hourly basis. They also point out that the current political climate is a key factor in price swings, as well as the latest industry and business news. Traders tend to spend a lot of time carrying out research for this reason.

It is unlikely that the GBP/USD pair undergoes a huge change because when the final Brexit date arrives. This is because the market already takes into account anything that has been agreed upon or even strongly rumored. Thus, it is more likely that any new agreement before or after the separation date affects the value of these currencies immediately.

Anyone who relies heavily upon receiving money in a foreign currency should always stay up to date with the market trends, especially when a huge change like Brexit is on the cards.

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