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.EU Brexit Update July 2020

February 22, 2021

Last updated: Dec. 15th, 2020

On February 1, 2020, the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union, with a transition period that will extend until December 31, 2020. One of the consequences of Brexit is that many UK-based, .EU domain owners will no longer meet the .EU eligibility requirements for this TLD.

In late November, 2020, EURid, the .EU registry, announced an updated timeline for revoking the domains of ineligible registrants.

EURid will once again reach out to impacted registrants on Dec. 21, 2020. Registrants who can will be asked to update their registrant data to demonstrate their eligibility based on citizenship in a remaining EU member state by December 31, 2020. On January 1, 2021,  any UK-based registrants who have not demonstrated eligibility based on citizenship in an EU country will have their domain name “suspended.” These domain names will no longer resolve.

We provide full details below, but we want to stress the importance of encouraging your registrants to demonstrate eligibility prior to December 31, 2020, if they are able to do so. This will avoid having their domain fall into suspended status.

Eligibility Requirements for .EU Domains

Last year, amid the Brexit negotiations, EURid released an updated Domain Name Registration Policy, which went into effect as of October 19, 2019.  Under this new policy, the eligibility requirements for organizations did not change, but the eligibility requirements for individuals did — .EU domains can now be registered by EU citizens who live outside of the European Union.

The following registrant types are eligible to register .EU domains:

  • a  European Union citizen, independently of their place of residence;
  • a natural person who is not a Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State;
  • an undertaking that is established in the Union; or
  • an organisation that is established in the Union, without prejudice to the application of national law.

In the context of Brexit, here’s what the eligibility requirements mean for existing .EU registrants:

  • EU citizens who reside in the UK will not lose their domain names. They’ll simply have to demonstrate proof of EU citizenship.
  • UK citizens that reside in an EU member state will also remain eligible.
  • However, UK citizens who reside outside of the Union Member States are no longer eligible to hold an .EU domain name. Their domain name will be revoked at the end of the transition period.
  • United Kingdom undertakings or organisations established in the United Kingdom but not in the Union will no longer be eligible to hold a .eu domain name.

Detailed Timeline for .EU Reseller and Registrants

Now Until December 21, 2020

  • You can update a registrant’s contact details to demonstrate continued eligibility via a “registrant details update” or “owner change” order. Steps for this process are described in appropriate TLD KIT sections. At this stage the process is still fully automated. No additional action is required. January 1, 2021, as of 00:00:00 CET
  • On December 21, EURid will email all UK registrants who did not demonstrate continued eligibility to remind them of their “forthcoming non-compliance with the .EU regulatory framework.”

January 1 – June 30, 2021  – Domain will be held in suspended status

  • You can still update a registrant’s contact details to demonstrate continued eligibility via the standard process: either a “Registrant details update” or “owner change” order. However, this update will not be processed automatically due to a manual review process for reinstatement that has been implemented at the registry level.
  • No documents are required. The registration data simply needs to be correct in the system for the registry to reinstate a domain. However, the registry can start a data verification procedure after a domain name is reinstated. This will involve the registry contacting the registrant directly to ask the registrant to validate their registration data.
  • EURid will no longer allow UK residents (who can’t demonstrate EU citizenship) to register new .EU domain names. The transfer and transfer through update of any domain name to a UK registrant will also no longer be allowed.

Important information about “Suspended” domain names:

  • .EU Domains in “suspended” status with expiry date before July 1st, 2021 will automatically renew, unless the reseller partner actively submits a “delete” or “expire” order in Ascio’s system; this renewal will be charged to the Partner as usual.Important note:  Ascio is working with EURid to determine the process for reclaiming withdrawn domains. We will announce further details as soon as we have them. However, we strongly encourage you to urge your impacted registrants to take action well before their domain reaches “withdrawn” status.
  • Domain names in “suspended” status that are deleted will be moved into a 40-day “quarantine” at the registry level. If the release date from quarantine is before July 1st, 2021, the domain name will become available for general registration on its release date. Any domain names that are still in quarantine on July 1st, 2021 will be moved to the “withdrawn” status, and will remain in a withdrawn state until January 1st, 2022, at which point they will be released for general registration.
  • Suspended domains  that are in quarantine can be reactivated. However, they will stay in the “SUSPENDED” status and will be moved to “withdrawn” status on July 1st, 2021 if the registrant continues not to fulfill the eligibility criteria.

July 1, 2021 to  December 31, 2021

This process and timeline may change, as EURid continues to adapt their procedures as necessary. We will keep you informed of any updates.

  • On July 1st, 2021 domain names in the “suspended” status will move into “withdrawn” status. How Should Resellers Prepare?
  • These withdrawn domains will be removed from Ascio reseller partner accounts on July 1st, 2021. You will no longer be able to manage these domain names from your account or via the API.

If you need to reclaim a domain that has been withdrawn:

  • You’ll need to place a “transfer” order in Ascio system. Please use the auth code “Brexit” in the appropriate Auth Code field when placing the transfer order.
  • Please note that the TRANSFER process is not free of charge. Completing a transfer will either add a year to the original registration date or, if the domain name`s expiry date has passed, the new expiry date will be the date of the Legal Transfer.
  • The transfer procedure will not be processed automatically due to the manual process for reinstatement of domain names at the registry level.
  • No documents are required. The registration data simply needs to be correct in the system for the registry to reinstate a domain. However, the registry can start a data verification procedure after a domain name is reinstated. This will involve the registry contacting the registrant directly to ask the registrant to validate their registration data.

January 1 2022, 00:00:00 CET

  • All withdrawn domain names will be “revoked” and made available for general registration. These domains will be released for registration in batches.

How Should Resellers Prepare?

1. Ensure you’re familiar with how to register, transfer, and perform contact updates for domains registered by EU citizens who live outside the European Union.

If you use the Ascio Partner Portal to register domains:

  • In the Partner Portal, you can indicate the individual registrant’s citizenship under Trademark > Country
  • Please use the Trademark Country field ( 25b. Trademark Country) to indicate the registrant’s country of citizenship. You must fill in this field using the appropriate ISO 3166-1 country code format.
  • Example: 25b. Trademark Country……….. : DE (Germany)

The process to update a suspended domain will change slightly. We will provide the full details soon.

If you use the API to register domains:

  • You’ll need to submit a Domain.Trademark. Country value, when needed. The value can be any two-letter country code of an EU member state.

2. Please refer to the TLD kit for detailed instructions on how to reclaim domains that have fallen into “suspended” or “withdrawn” status.