Additional information on
new 'settled status'
8 November 2017
Last month, Theresa May sent an open letter to citizens of the European Union. In it she made reference to the newly proposed, ‘settled status’ scheme for those EU nationals residing in the UK.
‘Settled status’ will be the equivalent of the current Indefinite Leave to Remain. This will give EU citizens access to healthcare, education and benefits as has been the case in the past. Those who have been here for less than five years will have the opportunity to complete their five year period and then apply for ‘settled status’.
A document has been released which offers additional reassurance to EU citizens and their family members by setting out further detail on the ‘streamlined and easy to use’ application process for the new status.
Theresa May has stated that safeguarding the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals in Europe “are [her] first priority” for negotiations. Her open letter signalled that an agreement was in touching distance with her EU counterparts.
The document commits to a two year grace period for EU citizens to apply for settled status after Britain leaves the EU; keeping the cost of an application “no more than the cost of a British passport”; the introduction of a “digital, streamlined and user-friendly application system”; minimising the evidence required on minor issues; and ensuring that EU citizens will not be required to have held comprehensive sickness insurance or to provide fingerprints as part of their application.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd added: “EU citizens living in the UK make an enormous contribution to our country and we want them to stay… We know that there is some anxiety among EU citizens about how the process of applying for settled status will work so I hope this document provides some further reassurance.”
To access the paper that sets out further details on the administrative procedures underpinning the UK’s proposals click here
May writes directly to EU citizens
Post-Brexit settled status proposal
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