However, the U.K.’s moves to leave the EU are throwing up complex legal questions which could affect thousands of Turkish people living in Britain.

Turkey’s ambassador to the U.K., Abdurrahman Bilgic, said that those citizens living in Britain on a business document linked to the September 1963 Ankara Agreement would not see a change in their status while the U.K. negotiates its departure from the European Union.

Under the free-visa scheme, Turkish citizens are entitled to set up a business in the U.K. and live in the country with no further requirements.

It has been a very popular initiative, with up to 20,000 Turks now living in the U.K. under the Ankara Agreement.

However, Bilgic pointed out the Ankara Agreement was not a bilateral U.K./Turkey deal.

“Once the U.K. officially exits from the EU, it will not be a party to the Agreement, just like all the other agreements that the UK is a party to owing to her EU membership,” he said.

Bilgic said the Turkish government was “well aware of the concerns” among its citizens living in the U.K. after the Brexit vote and said regular meetings were being held with Home Office officials.