Speaking to reporters on a trip to China, May said she will fight proposals to give EU nationals full residency rights if they arrive after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.
Officials in Brussels have said Britain must guarantee the rights of EU citizens if it wants free access to the European single market during the transition.
May said, "I'm clear there's a difference between those people who came prior to us leaving and those who will come when they know the UK is no longer a member of the EU.
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