Thankyou Diverbaz.
I think your interpretation needs official clarification.
Does anyone know if the Meis visa door will be closed soon, or is that option always going to be open.
The difficulty I feel is going to be the amount of residency applications all coming in at the same time, and rather difficult if you are stranded in the UK or elsewhere.
The delays at passport control on the inspection of the 180 day visa, to ensure that the new rules are being adhered to will I feel cause a great deal of delay/irritation to waiting holiday makers/residents.