Hoe gaat het met de in Engeland wonende EU burgers nu de Brexit nadert? Er gebeurt nogal wat voor deze mensen. A brief look inside.
” The EU Settlement Scheme has been fully open since 30 March 2019. EU, other EEA and Swiss citizens, and their family members have until 30 June 2021 to apply.
What is the EU Settlement Scheme?
- The EU Settlement Scheme is a free scheme which enables EEA and Swiss citizens resident in the UK, and their family members, to obtain the status they will require in order to live and work in the UK after 30 June 2021.
- Applicants only need to complete three key steps – prove their identity, show that that they live in the UK, and declare any criminal convictions.
- It is designed to be as simple and straightforward as possible. For further information.
How many people have applied?
- According to the latest published statistics up to the end of June 2020, there have been more than 3.7 million applications and more than 3.4 million have now been granted status.
- Updated headline figures are published each month and more detailed figures are published quarterly.
What support is available?
- There is a wide range of support available online, over the phone and in person to help people apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
- There are over 1,500 Home Office staff working on the EU Settlement Scheme with 250 Settlement Resolution Centre staff in place to provide assistance to applicants with any questions about the scheme or who need help applying.
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- Additional support is available to those EU citizens in the UK who do not have the appropriate access, skills or confidence to apply online. This includes over 300 assisted digital locations across the UK where people can be supported through their application.
- There are over 80 locations where applicants can have their passport scanned and verified across the UK.
Have there been any refusals?
- According to the latest statistics up to the end of June 2020, there had been 2,300 refusals (rounded to the nearest 100).
- The vast majority of these refusals were eligibility rather than suitability refusals.
- Refusals are always a last resort and do not change that person’s existing rights under EU law. Home Office caseworkers will have often worked for months to try to get in touch with the applicant to help them provide the evidence required.
- In cases where an applicant is refused, the Home Office will write to them to explain why they have been refused and what steps they need to take.
- If an individual disagrees with the decision to refuse their application, they can ask for an administrative review of the decision or apply again free of charge until 30 June 2021. Depending upon when they applied, they may also have a right of appeal.
What is the difference between a suitability refusal and an eligibility refusal?
- Suitability refusals will be made where there is evidence of serious or persistent criminality.
- This involves considering whether a person represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.
- This includes the threat the individual poses, their length of time in the UK, health and family ties and propensity to reoffend.
- In contrast, eligibility refusals will be made where someone does not meet the criteria for the scheme. For instance, they are not an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen or the family member of one or they are not resident in the UK.
- Evidence of residence can be as little as a utility bill, bank statements, or a letter from a GP or charity.
- The eligibility and suitability criteria can be found in full within the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance. “
“EU citizens are now being turned down for settled status
The Home Office has started to refuse EU citizens and their family members the right to stay in the UK post-Brexit. It issued 1,400 refusals under the EU Settlement Scheme in June 2020 alone, compared to 900 over the whole of the last couple of years. There had been 200 refusals in May, meaning that the number of refusals has jumped 600% month on month.
There was also a sharp rise in the number of applications rejected as invalid. As Kuba Jabłonowski of campaign group the3million points out, over 10% of all Settlement Scheme decisions taken last month were negative (ie the application was refused, void, invalid or withdrawn).
Overall, though, the number of refusals and other rejections is still a drop in the ocean. Almost 2 million people have now been granted settled status under the Settlement Scheme, and another 1.4 million pre-settled status. The cumulative number of refusals is 2,300. Another 55,000 were void, invalid or withdrawn.
The Home Office does not break down the 2,300 figure by reason for refusal, but says that “the vast majority” were because people are ineligible (rather than having a criminal record or otherwise failing the suitability criteria). ”
Bron: Freemovement.
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