Brexit: ‘Undocumented’ EU citizens may face deportation as settlement deadline nears

EU citizens living in the UK that have still not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme could become “undocumented” and without a legal immigration status by July.

UK in a Changing Europe, an independent research organisation based at King’s College London, warned that many EU citizens could face legal uncertainty, even if their application was submitted on time.

It said the scheme has generally been “hugely successful”, with applications processed quickly and with low refusal rates.

However, while the government has said it will allow those with “reasonable grounds” for missing the deadline to apply late, it has not explained what qualifies as reasonable.

The think tank said potentially “hundred of thousands” of applicants that have not applied by the deadline, and who do not have a good reason for making a late application, will immediately and irreversibly lose their rights of residence.

EU citizens that have applied close to the deadline may also be affected. It said those that have not received a decision by 30 June and cannot demonstrate a “right to reside” will lose their rights immediately, even if their application is valid.

Affected individuals will risk removal, being subject to the UK Home Office’s so-called hostile environment policy.

There is uncertainty around how many citizens will be impacted, as the government does not know how many eligible people have not applied.

Future borders and immigration minister Kevin Foster told Morning Wire:

“We have a dedicated team of more than 1,500 people working to process applications and we have also provided £22m to organisations that support vulnerable people. This funding is available up until the end of September to help our grant-funded network continue their vital work.”

“We have already confirmed that someone who has applied to the EU Settlement Scheme by the 30 June deadline, but has not had a decision by then, will have their rights protected until their application is decided.”

The EU Settled Status scheme was established after Brexit to allow EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 and their families to apply for “settled status” or, if they have less than five years residence, “pre-settled status”. 

There have been over 5.6m applications and 5m grants of status through the scheme up to the end of May 2021.

Deputy director of UK in a Changing Europe Catherine Barnard said, while the scheme has “reached huge numbers of people”, it is “about to enter a phase that will require sensitive management where the government will need to show pragmatism and flexibility in dealing with difficult cases”.