EU Settled & Pre-Settled Status

Now that Britain has confirmed that it wishes to exit the EU, talks of negotiation are underway and for EU citizens who are currently residing in the UK the EU settlement scheme has been launched. Once the UK has entirely exited the European Union and the EU laws no longer apply, the EU citizens residing there will no longer be legal residents. In order to continue living in the UK they will have to apply through the settlement scheme to gain either a settled or pre-settled status. Anyone who fails to apply will not be a legal resident of the UK after the deal is finalized. It was part of the EU agreement that EU citizens can freely move to other EU member states to live and work, known as the freedom of movement in the EU agreement.

The final date for the settlement scheme is June 31^st 2021 for all EU citizens in the UK. Even for EU citizens who are currently married to a UK national, they too will have to apply for the scheme. Similarly EU national parents will have to apply on behalf of their children as minors also have to go through this process.

This scheme also applies to nationals of Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland, which are not members of the EU.

The only exceptions this scheme, people who do not have to apply and can continue living in the UK will be British citizens, Irish citizens, those who are born in the UK and have at least one parent with settled status and those people who have permanent residency status in the UK.

Settled Status

The settled status under this scheme will be awarded to those EU nationals who will have spent at least five years in the UK by the end of 2020, given that they also fulfill the criteria.

The criteria includes that they must not have been convicted for any serious criminal offenses and/or are not deemed a threat and hence cannot be allowed to stay. If they have spent five years in the UK prior to the end of 2020, they must have spent at least six months of each of those five years in the UK.

People who are awarded the settled status will only need to apply to the EU settlement scheme once.

The benefits that settles status individuals receive will be somewhat similar to those received by a British citizen, in that, they will have rights to healthcare, education, social benefits and a pension.

Pre-Settled Status

This is also known as a limited leave to remain and this status will be applicable for those people who are EU citizens but have not completed a term of five years before the end date of the settlement scheme. The pre-settled status will permit such individuals to continue to live in the UK till they complete a term of five years, and then apply to claim the settled status.

How To Apply For Settled Status

People who wish to apply for the settled status can do so either by filling in an online form, sending in a filled form through regular post, or by the settlement smartphone app. However the app is only currently available for Android users, an Apple version of the app is yet to be launched.

Requirements

When submitting an application for settled status the applicant will need to prove these things through proper documentation:

1. Personal ID, this may be in the form of a valid national identity card or a valid passport.
2. Evidence of residence in the UK. This will include things such as utility bills, property ownership documents or rent agreements, this will not apply to people who have a permanent residence document or an indefinite leave to remain permit which allows for free entry and residence in the UK.
3. Evidence of relation to a family member who is an EU national and living in the UK, for applicant who want to come to the UK from outside the EU.
4. A recent digital photograph of themselves

They also need to prove that they have not been convicted of any criminal offenses.

Application Rejection

The UK has expressed itself as wanting to accommodate as many people as it can through the settlement scheme, and in the case that an application is rejected the applicant will have 28 days from the date of decision to apply for a review of their case.

However not every applicant will be eligible for a review, and resubmitting the application may also have an additional which could be reimbursed if the initial decision is overturned.

Costs

Initially the UK government had declared that there would be a charge of GBP 65 on every application, however this was quickly reconsidered and since then the entire settlement scheme will be done with no cost to the applicant. Only in the case that an applicant who has been turned down and wants to send their case for a review, if they are eligible for one, there will be a fee.