Brexit. It's coming, but no one really knows what form it will take.

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to fire the starting pistol this month, leading to at least two years of complex negotiations between Britain and 27 other European Union nations with competing interests.

The results will redefine Britain's role outside the EU, transform immigration and trade laws, and affect everything from intelligence sharing to the classification of bananas.

Brexit hasn't happened yet; the formal process is about to begin.

But the June 23 referendum in which Britons voted to leave the EU is already having an immense impact on peoples' lives.

Not because of what they know about Brexit, but because of what they don't.

Five people -- three in Britain, two in continental Europe -- tell how they are coping with the uncertainty:

THE GERMAN ACADEMIC WHO IS LEAVING BRITAIN

German-born Henning Meyer and his German wife have lived in London long enough to easily qualify for British nationality.

And it's likely the British government will eventually decide to allow EU nationals already living in Britain to stay even after the divorce, so they could probably live here even without British passports.

But the Meyers are leaving.

They are building a small home in Berlin and selling their place just north of London.

They no longer feel welcome here and they believe London's role as a vital international hub will soon shrivel.

Meyer says that if he's not allowed to live in the UK as German, he no longer wants to be in the UK.

They took six months to decide to abandon Britain -- a move shaped by the belief that something fundamental had been altered in the tolerant, multi-cultural society they had embraced.

"It's not just the immediate reaction after the referendum," he said.

"You know everybody knows what happened to -- not me personally -- but Polish citizens or others who have been subject to abuse or even worse. So what also changed is how the referendum campaign altered the public discourse in this country. Because it was a shameful campaign and it has made stereotyping xenophobia mainstream."

He said some friends no longer feel comfortable speaking German with their children on London streets, and others try to conceal their Polish or German identities.

Meyer doesn't want to live that way.

THE LATVIAN STUDENT RUSHING TO GET TO BRITAIN - BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Katrina Rubina's dream is almost in her grasp. She fears Brexit will snatch it away.

The 18-year-old high school student's cherished goal - call it an obsession - is to study in Britain, a country with a proud tradition of academic rigour that regularly turns out skilled graduates who can compete in Europe's tight job market.

"I've been dreaming about studying in the UK for a long time, since I was 6 years old, purely because of Harry Potter. And right now if because of the Brexit, the student loans are cut, there are no more opportunities for people (from the EU) who were depending on these loans. Thus, my chance would be blown," says Rubina.

Her fear is that Britain's exit from the EU will shortly make it much harder for students from other European countries to study in Britain.

She anticipates many road blocks: New visa rules, rather than the border free travel Latvians and other EU citizens now enjoy, a hike in tuition for non-British students and, most importantly, a sharp cut in scholarships for EU students.

That's made getting to Britain a now-or-never proposition.

She and many other Latvian hopefuls are flooding British universities with applications - academic officials note a marked increase since the referendum.

She has been provisionally accepted at the Royal Holloway in London to study international business, but needs an excellent showing on her final round of exams.

Her counsellor has told her she must study still harder - competition has increased because so many students are trying to get to Britain before the rules change.

"That's all I worked for - to study in the UK. And if I cannot - it was all for nothing," she says.

THIS MAN OF STEEL SEES BETTER DAYS AHEAD - AND HE'S HIRING

John Reid & Sons is looking to hire six people at its structural steel factory in southern England - and managing director Simon Boyd thinks the 98-year-old company's expansion is a Brexit blessing.

He has argued for years that membership in the EU was holding Britain back because of a welter of regulations.

The day Brexit comes into full force, he says, will be the day when Britain is liberated from unwanted workplace rules and the capricious dictates imposed by the European Court of Justice.

He knows that in a legal sense nothing has changed, that the implementation of Brexit is at least several years away, but thinks the business climate has dramatically improved now that the end of EU regulation (over-regulation in his view) is in sight.

The midsize firm he runs is already reaping benefits - the falling value of the British pound sterling since the Brexit vote has helped its exports - and the company's largest ever expansion project is being planned in consultation with local officials.

Boyd, who started his career making tea and sweeping floors, says orders and inquiries for major projects increased after the referendum vote and expects they will shoot still higher in the coming years.

"I think government is in an excellent position to negotiate a really good deal with our European friends, and we can get out of this really damaging European Union, "says Boyd, who chafes at the way European workplace rules hamper his flexibility in a business that is cyclical by nature.

THE BRITISH RETIREE IN SPAIN: DON'T MAKE ME GO BACK

If Brexit means that retirees Karen and Peter Watling have to leave the Mediterranean coast of Spain to return to the dreary British Midlands, expect them to be kicking and screaming on the plane back home.

Their decision to retire in Spain after long careers in England made perfect sense - before Brexit.

They enjoy a reciprocal health care arrangement between Britain and Spain that allows them to receive free medical care and medication, which is crucial because Peter, 70, has a serious ailment.

Karen Watling doesn't expect the health care agreement between the two EU countries to survive the divorce, which would force them to seek government-sponsored health insurance in Spain or reluctantly move back to England.

"For us it would be a disaster because it would be well over 300 euros a month plus medication," she says of the insurance she would need in Spain. "We wouldn't be able to afford it."

Brexit has already hit their purchasing power.

Their pensions are paid in British pound sterling, which has, since the referendum, dropped by about 15 percent in relation to the euro used in Spain.

Karen Watling who is also 70 says she has been anxious and tearful since June 23.

She is angry at the government - believing that Brits living in other EU countries are being used as a bargaining chip - and mortified by what the referendum results say about the country where she worked as a teacher for decades.

"I am devastated to see how the UK has now become, "she says.

THE ITALIAN 'LONDONER' WHO SUDDENLY FEELS OUT OF PLACE - IN HIS OWN HOME

Brexit has cost him money, plenty of money each month as the cost of importing meats and cheese from Italy has risen because of the drop in value of the British pound.

But Gastronomica founder Marco Vineis seems most upset by Brexit's emotional pain, not its financial toll.

"I feel myself quite a Londoner, even if I wasn't born here," says Vineis, 52, in his salami and cheese filled deli, where the aroma of rich Italian espresso lingers.

"Now I feel myself a bit of a foreigner. So, this feeling I don't like it a lot. This is after 25 years I've been here."

With the current exchange rate of the pound against the euro, in "three years we need to close," he says, or change the business by replacing tomatoes and pecorino with scallops and cheddar.

London, UK – 17 February 2017

1. London School of Economics academic, Henning Meyer walking into office

2. Hands on keyboard mouse

3. Meyer's own picture of Berlin on his computer

4. Various Meyer looking at his photos of Berlin

5. Photos being scrolled through

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Henning Meyer, London School of Economics academic:

"It's just the feeling that the mood has changed. It's not just the immediate reaction after the referendum - you know everybody knows about what happened to, not me personally, but Polish citizens or others who have been subject to abuse or even worse - so what also changed is how the referendum campaign altered the pubic discourse in this country. Because it was a shameful campaign, in my view, and it has made stereotyping xenophobia mainstream."

7. Cutaway of hands

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Henning Meyer, London School of Economics academic:

"In the cold light of day it is clear that the best decision for us in the medium to long-term - even though in the short-term it might be more disruptive - is moving back to Berlin."

9. Various of Henning looking at photo of plot of land he has bought in Berlin

Riga, Latvia - 17 February 2017

10. Various of English class at Riga State 2nd Gymnasium

11. Close of Katrina Rubina

12. Pan of class

13. Rubina exiting classroom

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Katrina Rubina, 18, student hoping to study in UK:

"I've been dreaming about studying in the UK for a long time, since I was six years old, purely because of Harry Potter. And right now if because of the Brexit, the student loans are cut, there are no more opportunities for people (from the EU) who were depending on these loans and thus, my chance would be blown."

15. Girl holding a University of Edinburgh bag

16. Rubina talking to classmates in the corridor

17. SOUNDBITE (English) Katrina Rubina, 18, student hoping to study in the UK:

I've worked every single test and doing all these extra curriculars, and right now, kind of, all was useless if I cannot study there anymore. Because that's all I worked for - to study in the UK. And if I cannot - it was all for nothing."

18. Various exteriors of Riga State 2nd Gymnasium

Bournemouth, UK - 28 February 2017

19. Pan interior of John Reid and Sons steel factory

20. Various of steel welding

21. Various set ups of John Reid and Sons managing director, Simon Boyd

22. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Boyd, Managing Director, John Reid and Sons:

"It was pretty clear after Mr Cameron's failed attempts to negotiate a better deal with the EU that we weren't going to get anything that worked for me, my family, my business, my employees and indeed the vast majority of people in the UK and now I think we have to support government. I think government is in an excellent position to negotiate a really good deal with our European friends, and we can get out of this really damaging European Union."

23. Cutaway tilt down face

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Simon Boyd, Managing Director, John Reid and Sons:

"I'm a businessman, I care about this company, I care about our industry, and I care about everybody in the country to be honest, no matter where you come from. The fact of the matter is that politicians will argue black is white, day in day out. We have to deal with the facts. It's us that have to bear the burden of regulation. It's us that have to cope with the stresses and anxieties that all this regulation places not only on us who run the business but on our employees, and a one size fits all approach, which is what the European Union has done with British business has been really bad for us."

25. Various steel cutting

26. Forklift operating

Torrevieja, Spain - 1 March 2017

27. Wide Torrevieja beach

28. Mid people walking on the beach

29. Mid people in a bar terrace

30. Close menu sign in English

31. Various set up shots of Karen Watling, a UK pensioner from Yorkshire

32. SOUNDBITE (English) Karen Watling, UK pensioner living in Spain:

"For us it would be a disaster because it would be well over 300 euros a month plus medication, we wouldn't be able to afford it."

33. Close up of hands

34. SOUNDBITE (English) Karen Watling, UK pensioner living in Spain:

"We didn't leave the United Kingdom because we didn't like it, we left it because we thought we would have a better retirement in a warmer place and that's true. We are quite happy here. The UK is still my home country. And I am devastated to see how the UK has now become."

35. Mid food sign in English

London - 16 February 2017

36. Exterior of Gastronomica Italian deli

37. Various of customers, produce in background

38. Various of deli items

39. Various of Italian restaurateur and food importer Marco Vineis preparing sandwich

40. SOUNDBITE (English) Marco Vineis, Italian restaurateur and food importer:

"I feel myself quite (a) Londoner, even if I wasn't born here. Now I feel myself a bit of a foreigner. So, this feeling I don't like it a lot. This is after 25 years, I've been here, I feel London as it is my house, almost."

41. Cutaway hands

42. SOUNDBITE (English) Marco Vineis, Italian restaurateur and food importer:

"I hope the pound must be at least over the 1.15 (to the euro) otherwise it's going to be... if it carries on for 10 years at 1.10, after three years we need to close. Or change our business. Having English product. So, if we are very keen on these zero kilometres product, perfect. We can do it. Tomorrow we can buy, I don't know.... scallops, cheddar..."

43. Staff preparing food

44. Plate of mozzarella and tomato salad