Reality Check: The EU referendum

The claim: 750,000 people gained citizenship in other EU countries last year, giving them the right to come to the UK. This figure has been increasing every year. 

Reality Check verdict: 750,000 is actually a slight understatement. 763,500 people were made citizens of other EU countries and have an automatic right to come to the UK because of EU freedom of movement rules. The figure has not been increasing every year.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Net migration to the UK will be an average of 275,000 a year until 2035. 

Reality Check verdict: All such forecasts involve huge uncertainties. Migration Watch's predictions are higher than the Office for National Statistics ones, but not as high as a forecast from Vote Leave.

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The claim: People receiving funding from the European Union would continue to get it until 2020 if there was a vote to leave the EU, and more money could be spent on the NHS and tax cuts. 

Reality Check verdict: There would be the money to fund these spending promises as long as economic growth was not reduced - which most economists believe it would be - and the UK outside the EU did not continue making contributions to the EU budget. The people making these promises would not necessarily be in power following a Brexit. 

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The claim: Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says 500,000 Irish people live in the UK.

Reality Check verdict: 331,000 Irish people live in Britain, according to the most recent ONS statistics.

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Lots of you have got in touch with the BBC about what a possible exit from the EU might mean for travel and living abroad. We've answered some of your questions below. 

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Reality Check has been answering your questions throughout the referendum campaign - here are some of the issues that listeners to Radio 4's PM programme raised.  

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The question: Jerry emailed the BBC to ask: "How should I vote to ensure my Thai wife and daughter will be allowed to continue living in the UK with me as a family?"

Reality Check verdict: We can't advise you how to vote, but we can shine some light on immigration rules in this area. EU citizens can bring their families from outside the EU. It is easier for them to do so than for UK citizens. A rule change introduced by the UK government in 2012 created this discrepancy.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: The UK leaving the European Union would mean cuts to pensions, defence and the NHS. 

Reality Check verdict: What, if anything, gets cut if there is a Brexit will be a matter for the government to decide.

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The claim: The pound and the FTSE 100 are at the same levels as they were in March.

Reality Check verdict: Nigel Farage is right about the levels compared with March, but looking a few months further back and considering options markets may give a more useful view of concerns on the currency markets about the risks of a Brexit.

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The claim: The European Parliament could block the implementation of the UK deal for the European Union which Prime Minister David Cameron agreed in February 2016. 

Reality Check verdict: MEPs will not get a say on the deal as a whole. They could, in theory, delay or even block the amendments to two regulations which are required to implement part of the deal, but this is unlikely to happen.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: The UK leaving the European Union would mean families being hit by £18bn in welfare cuts and tax rises.

Reality Check verdict: This figure is derived from a worst case scenario in an economic model. There are many assumptions that must be accepted to reach it. If you believe that leaving the EU would cut economic growth then it is likely that would mean austerity having to be deeper or longer if the deficit is to be eradicated, although it is impossible to say for sure by how much or how long.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says that the Labour Party is overwhelmingly in favour of staying in the EU.

Reality Check verdict: The polling evidence continues to suggest that Labour voters back Remain over Leave in a ratio of two to one. But the polls could be mistaken.

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The BBC's Clive Coleman looks at how the UK might untangle itself from EU law in the event of a Brexit.

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The question: Colin asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme "If the UK were to leave the EU, how would Gibraltar be affected?"

Reality Check verdict: If the UK leaves the EU, so does Gibraltar. Gibraltar cannot reapply to join the EU on its own without being recognised as a sovereign state.

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The claim: Douglas Carswell, the UKIP MP and Leave campaigner said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme "If we were to leave the EU we would start from the position of tariff-free unrestricted trade and we could certainly build on that and improve on that".

Reality Check verdict: How a new deal would look remains one of the biggest questions over a vote to leave the EU. The UK's current tariff-free, unrestricted trade deal with the EU would remain in place for at least the first two years of negotiations. No non-EU countries have negotiated tariff-free unrestricted trade with the EU without contributing to the EU budget and allowing unlimited EU migration.

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The question: P.M. asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "Have any of the credit rating agencies (eg Moody's), expressed a view on what effect a Brexit vote would have on our credit rating?"

Reality Check verdict: Standard and Poor's have said it would probably lower the UK's long-term credit rating. Fitch said it would review the UK's credit rating but did not now anticipate a downgrade in the immediate aftermath. Moody's said a vote to leave could lead to a negative outlook due to greater uncertainty and a weaker economy.

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The question: Julian asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme "How much has/will the referendum cost?"

Reality Check verdict: The estimated cost of the referendum is £142.4m, according to the written statement to Parliament by the Cabinet Office.

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The BBC's Clive Coleman looks into opposing claims about how much UK law comes from the EU.

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The claim: Chancellor George Osborne says there would have to be a hardening of the border between the UK and the Republic of Ireland if the UK votes to leave the EU.

Reality Check verdict: It's hard to predict what would happen to the border between the two countries at this stage. It would depend on the type of agreements the UK negotiates.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The question: Steven asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "In the event of a Brexit, how will this affect the various programmes and therefore the jobs which are currently part-financed by money which the UK receives from the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund?"

Reality Check verdict: Leaving the EU could leave certain sectors vulnerable but Leave campaigners say an exit from the EU would allow funds to be redirected into local projects. A post-Brexit government would need to decide which projects to continue funding. 

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Since 1992, 27 other countries have been more successful at exporting goods to the single market than the UK has. 

Reality Check verdict: In terms of volumes of sales, the UK has done much better. If success is measured by the percentage increase in the amount exported then he is right. 

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The claim: The Vote Leave campaign is claiming that "UK taxpayers will keep paying for the huge bills caused by the euro crisis" and that "these bills will only increase".

Reality Check verdict: The UK will not pay for future eurozone bailouts. This has already been agreed by EU leaders. In addition, the UK-EU deal from February, which will be implemented if the UK votes to stay in the EU, reinforces this and states that the UK would be reimbursed if the general EU budget is used for the cost of the eurozone crisis.

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The claim: Prime Minister David Cameron says as a result of his negotiations in Brussels earlier this year - which has not come into effect yet but will if the UK votes to stay in the European Union - EU citizens who come to the UK but fail to find work will have to leave after six months.  

Reality Check verdict: Existing EU rules allow states to deport citizens from other EU countries if they have become a burden on the welfare system of the state. UK law suggests this occurs after six months of unsuccessfully looking for work, but it is not clear how many people have been removed from the UK on this basis. The UK will have no additional powers in this area as a result of David Cameron's EU deal in February.  

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Chancellor George Osborne said during a "town hall" speech to JP Morgan's hub in Bournemouth: "Our analysis shows that in the services sector alone 400,000 jobs could be at risk." 

Reality Check verdict: The 400,000 figure is an extrapolation from the Treasury's analysis of the effects of Brexit published last week, which is based on an economic model. Whether you believe its outcomes depends on whether you trust its assumptions. 

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Vote Leave says the UK cannot lower VAT rates as long as it is in the European Union. Michael Gove said the 5% rate of VAT on household gas and electricity bills could not be scrapped because of EU rules. 

Reality Check verdict: EU rules mean the UK cannot reduce VAT on goods and services below 15%, the standard rate of VAT in the EU. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%, so the government could reduce it by up to 5% today if it wanted. Domestic fuel is on a special list of pre-approved goods and services that are subject to lower VAT rates, and it would require the agreement of all other EU members to reduce it further. 

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The claim: The Migration Watch think tank says that between a quarter and half a million refugees and their dependants could come to the UK from 2020 onwards after acquiring EU citizenship.

Reality Check verdict: We could not find clear evidence to support this figure. It is very difficult to predict what future migration flows will look like, as they depend on a number of factors. It can also take a number of years for refugees granted asylum in EU countries to acquire citizenship and apply for EU passports. We don't know how many people granted asylum in the stated period will go on to become citizens of another EU country.

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The question: Thandi asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme "How many laws that protect us are we likely to lose?"

Reality Check verdict: We really can't answer this. If the UK left the EU, there would be a very complicated process of "divorcing" the UK and the EU laws. We may want to keep some laws the same as they are now or we may decide to scrap some of them.

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The Claim: Speaking about the UK's membership of the EU, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "It means workers throughout Europe have decent rights at work, meaning it's harder to undercut terms and conditions across Europe."

Reality Check verdict: Some of the UK's employment law comes from the EU. However, the impact a Brexit might have on workers' rights and protections depends on which existing laws the UK decides to keep or get rid of.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Completing the single market in services will create 700 to 800,000 new jobs over the coming years. 

Reality Check verdict: This is an estimate of the impact of a whole range of extensions planned for the single market by 2030.

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The question: Charmi asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "If we leave the EU, will VAT be reduced by 5%?" 

Reality Check verdict: The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%. This could go down by 5% today, if the government wanted, because each member state is free to set the VAT rate above 15%, the standard rate of VAT in the EU. Some goods and services are subject to special rules - countries can set VAT rates below 15% on these without the agreement of other EU member states. But VAT rates cannot be taken below 5% without the agreement of all 28 member states.

Read the full Reality Check here.

The claim: Trade union umbrella body the TUC says leaving the EU would cut average earnings by £38 per week by 2030. 

Reality Check verdict: The TUC has taken other bodies' forecasts that leaving the EU would lead to slower growth in the economy and used them to predict lower wages. While the precise figures are highly uncertain, if you believe the forecasts for the economy you can also believe that wages would be lower.

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The claim: Vote Leave says membership of the EU means the UK will have to pay out up to £43bn in tax refunds to multinational businesses.

Reality Check verdict: The £43bn figure is not a definite commitment, it is what HMRC considers to be the most the UK might have to pay. It could be significantly lower depending on the outcome of current court cases. We don't know how much of it is connected to EU membership.

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The question: Rebecca asks BBC Radio 4's PM programme "How much of the EU budget is spent on developing the economies of the poorest member states, from which a large majority of economic migrants come? Many of whom do so reluctantly, leaving family members behind due to limited opportunities in their own countries."

Reality Check verdict: The poorest countries received about 25% of overall EU expenditure in 2014, according to the European Commission.

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The claim: The think-tank Open Europe, quoted by Vote Leave, calculates that £33.3bn is the annual cost of the 100 "most burdensome" EU regulations for the UK economy. 

Reality Check verdict: The £33.3bn figure describes the projected annual cost of 100 EU regulations, without taking account of the benefits, estimated by Open Europe to be £58.6bn. There is no guarantee that regulatory costs would be much lower after a Brexit. The EU is involved in setting global standards in many fields, so the UK would still be bound by many rules if it left the EU.

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The claim: Leave campaigners have suggested a British government outside the EU could spend billions of pounds on the NHS, schools and tax cuts. 

 Reality Check verdict: If you add together all the different suggestions from leave campaigners about how Britain's contribution to the EU might otherwise be spent, they come to more than anyone thinks would be affordable. They are not actual spending commitments because none of the Leave campaigners can guarantee that any particular proposal for spending would happen following Brexit.

Read the full Reality Check here.