May seeks to reassure EU citizens, saying none living in UK lawfully will be forced to leave after Brexit

Her “fair deal” pledge seeks to go a long way to answer her opponents’ criticisms and to allay the fears of EU citizens living in Britain worried about their future status once the UK exits the Brussels bloc in March 2019.

The SNP’s Stephen Gethins had branded the UK’s refusal to thus far guarantee the rights of EU citizens “beyond reckless”.

The EU has sought cast-iron guarantees for the estimated 3.2 million EU citizens living in the UK as well as for the 1.2 million Britons living in the EU 27.

At the two-day summit in the Belgian capital, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, told reporters that she wanted "the widest possible security guarantees for EU citizens" from the Brexit deal.

Mrs May arrived in Brussels, saying the first week of Brexit talks had been “constructive” and, in her speech to her EU counterparts, she vowed to reassure EU citizens and to make them a priority in the continuing negotiations.

The PM made clear the UK did not want anyone here to have to leave nor did it want families to be split up.

But she set up a series of probable clashes with the EU by suggesting she could set an early cut-off date for residency rights and by rejecting a Brussels demand for the European Court of Justice[ECJ] to retain powers to enforce rights following Brexit.

Reiterating how she wanted to reach a reciprocal settlement for EU citizens in Britain and UK nationals living in Europe as quickly as possible, Mrs May said her aim was to provide EU citizens in the UK with certainty, giving a clear commitment that none currently living in the UK lawfully would be asked to leave the country at the point the UK left the EU and that all EU citizens lawfully here at the point of Brexit would have the opportunity to regularise their status to remain in the country.

Under the plan, EU nationals who had lived in the UK for five years by a specific cut-off date would be given the chance to take up "settled status", granting them rights to stay in the country and receive healthcare, education, welfare and pensions as if they were British citizens.

Those resident for a shorter period would have the opportunity to stay on until they had reached the five-year threshold.

Those arriving after the cut-off date but before the date of Brexit would have a "grace period" - expected to be two years - within which to regularise their immigration status with a view to seeking settled status later.

The cut-off date is yet to be set but would come between the day when Britain formally notified Brussels of its intention to quit on April 29 2017 and the day when it finally left, expected to be March 29 2019.

The PM also promised the system would be streamlined, doing away with the 85-page permanent residency application form which has been the subject of loud complaints from EU expats.

It is thought that the UK is reserving the option of setting an early cut-off for residency rights in case there is a late surge of migrants arriving as Brexit approaches.

But the introduction of a "grace period" raises the possibility that large numbers arriving during withdrawal negotiations may be allowed to remain; at least for a few years.

And the outline deal leaves questions unanswered over whether individuals with settled status would be permitted to bring in children or spouses and whether the new status would be subject to conditions other than length of residency.

Further details are expected to be revealed in a paper to be published on Monday.

Speaking over dinner at the Brussels summit, Mrs May told the EU27 leaders: "The UK's position represents a fair and serious offer and one aimed at giving as much certainty as possible to citizens who have settled in the UK, building careers and lives and contributing so much to our society."

She said the UK did not want anyone currently in Britain to be forced to leave.

But the proposals are likely to meet resistance in Brussels, which has already published its own formal proposals which would guarantee the rights enjoyed under EU law to any European expat resident in the UK on the date of Brexit.

Other than the different cut-off date, the key point of contention to be thrashed out in talks between Brexit Secretary David Davis and Michel Barnier, his EU counterpart, is likely to be over the question of jurisdiction.

The EU proposals stipulate that the European Commission should have "full powers" to monitor and the ECJ "full jurisdiction" for as long as citizens' rights remain protected under the withdrawal agreement.

But Mrs May told her fellow leaders: "The commitment that we make to EU citizens will be enshrined in UK law and will be enforced through our highly respected courts."

A senior British official added: "We have been clear on the ECJ that we are taking back control of our own laws."

At the summit, Mrs Merkel told reporters: “For me, shaping the future for the 27 takes priority over the negotiations with Great Britain over withdrawal."

Emmanuel Macron, the French President, said he preferred to talk about Europe's ambitions and plans than get involved in "discussions lasting days and nights on its dismantling".

Meantime, Donald Tusk, the European Council President, suggested he still hoped the UK might change its mind over Brexit and decide to stay.

Quoting John Lennon, he said that when people asked him if he thought there was any possibility of the UK remaining a member, he replied: "The European Union was built on dreams that seemed impossible to achieve. So, who knows. You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one."

But Mark Rutte, the Dutch PM, said he respected the outcome of last year's referendum even though he regretted it.

"I am an Anglophile. You are one of our most beloved partners, so I hate Brexit from every angle. But you can't argue with democracy," he added.