Post-Brexit ex-pat residency deal struck with non-EU nations

The British government has agreed to allow citizens of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein already living in Britain to remain after Brexit even if the country leaves the European Union without a deal.

The agreement should remove the uncertainty a "hard" Brexit scenario posed for some 15,000 citizens of the three non-EU nations who live in Britain.

The deal's reciprocal arrangement also clarifies plans for some 17,000 British citizens who reside in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Those countries aren't EU members, but belong to the much-smaller European Economic Area-European Free Trade Agreement (EEA EFTA) group. Group spokesman Thorfinnur Omarsson said the agreement secured their citizens' rights in Britain "regardless of the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the UK."