Brexit – what you need to know

The UK may be leaving the European Union on or before 31 January 2020. This process is often known as 'Brexit'.

It's still not clear how Brexit will happen, or whether it will happen (the Scottish Government website gives more information). Despite this, the Scottish Government is working with the UK Government and public bodies to take steps to prepare for the potential impacts on people and business in Scotland.

This work is looking at two main options:

• Brexit with a 'withdrawal agreement' and transition period
• Brexit without a deal (a 'no deal' situation)

You may have questions about what Brexit means for you. You might have questions about the availability of medicines or food, or how EU citizens living in Scotland may be affected.

This site provides information and guidance to help you prepare for Brexit, including a 'no deal' situation. Not all information is available at this time. Regular updates will be made to this site as new information becomes available.

Brexit could include changes to a number of different things in your day to day life. For more information, select an area below:

• agriculture (farming and food production)
• business (EU employees and Scottish businesses)
• civil rights (voting and consumer rights)
• education (services, qualifications and funding)
• environment (protection and legislation)
• EU citizens living in Scotland
• EU funding guarantee (funding and contact details)
• family, civil and commercial disputes
• financial services (banking and regulation)
• fisheries (commercial fishing, landing and exporting)
• forestry (importing and exporting)
• food and drink (food supply and laws)
• health and social care (medicines and services)
• housing (social and private housing)
• justice and security (rights and crime)
• sport (employment and funding)
• tax (council and income tax)
• travel and transport (holidays, pets and haulage)
• visiting Scotland (tourism and short-term break)
• welfare and finances (benefits, pensions and money)

The UK Government website gives more information on Brexit and reserved matters.

If you are a UK citizen living in an EU country there's also a section giving information and guidance on how Brexit may affect you and how you may need to prepare.

The details of Brexit are not fully known, which means the amount of information the Scottish Government can obtain and provide is limited. New information and guidance will be added to this site as it's available, so please check back regularly for updates.

The gov.scot site also contains information about the UK's possible exit from the European Union (Brexit) in:

• Español (Spanish)
• Français (French)
• Italiano (Italian)
• Polski (Polish)