Offer for EU citizens in the UK
The UK government’s offer for EU citizens is:
- People who have been continuously living here for 5 years will be able to apply to stay indefinitely by getting ‘settled status’. That means these citizens will be free to live here, have access to public funds and services and apply for British citizenship.
- People who arrived before the cut-off date, but won’t have been here for 5 years when we leave the EU, will be able to apply to stay until they have reached the 5 year threshold. They can then also apply for settled status.
- People who arrive after the cut-off date will be able to apply for permission to remain after the UK leaves the EU, under the future immigration arrangements for EU citizens.
- Family dependants who are living with or join EU citizens before the UK’s exit will also be able to apply for settled status after 5 years in the UK. In these cases the cut-off date won’t apply.
The cut-off date will be agreed during the negotiations but it shouldn’t be earlier than 29 March 2017 (the date Article 50 was triggered) or later than the date the UK leaves the EU.
UKBA intend that EU citizens with settled status and temporary permission to stay will continue to have broadly the same access as they currently do to healthcare, education, benefits and pensions.
UKBA plan to launch a scheme for people to apply for settled status before the UK leaves the EU, so people who would like to apply can do so at an early stage. UKBA will ask EU citizens to make an application to the Home Office for documentation to confirm their new status.
They are currently looking at what the future immigration system for EU citizens arriving after the cut-off date will look like.
Applying for a residence document
The offer sets out that all EU citizens and their families in the UK will need to apply to the Home Office for permission to stay. Once we leave the EU this will be required by UK law. The type of application you’ll need to make will depend on your circumstances, when you moved to the UK and how long you’ve lived here.
They will be asking EU citizens to make an application to the Home Office for a residence document demonstrating your new settled status. They will make the process as streamlined and user-friendly as possible for all individuals, including those who already hold a permanent residence document under current free movement rules. We expect the new online application system to be up and running in 2018.
Your residence document will prove (for example, to employers or public service providers) that you have permission to continue living and working legally in the UK.
Timeline for applications
At the point the UK leaves the EU, EU citizens won’t be required to leave the UK if they don’t yet have a document under the new scheme. There will be a period of permission to remain in the UK covering all EU citizens and their families. This is called a ‘grace period’. The grace period will give you time to apply for and receive your new residence document.
The grace period will last for a fixed period of time (to be confirmed during negotiations) of up to 2 years. If you haven’t received a document confirming your new immigration status by the end of this period you will no longer have permission to remain in the UK
Permanent residence status under EU law
The settled status application process for EU citizens will be separate from the current one for documents confirming EU permanent residence status. Permanent residence status is linked to the UK’s membership of the EU and so will no longer be valid after we leave.
If you already have a document certifying permanent residence, you will still need to apply for the new settled status document. The application process for people who need to do this will be as streamlined as possible.
EU citizens who arrive in the UK after the cut-off date
If you arrive before the date the UK leaves the EU, regardless of when the agreed cut off date is, you won’t have to leave the UK when they leave the EU. The grace period of permission to remain in the UK will apply to you.
However, if you would like to stay in the UK after the grace period ends you must apply for permission to stay (‘leave to remain’) before that point.
Details of the rules around leave to remain for EU citizens who arrive after the cut-off date are being agreed. They will publish more details as soon as possible, to give EU citizens and businesses enough time to plan and prepare.
UK employers and EU citizen employees
If you’re an EU citizen working in the UK or a UK business that employs an EU citizen, you don’t need to do anything now. There will be no change to the rights and status of EU citizens living in the UK before we leave the EU.
After we leave, EU citizens will need to apply for a document to prove they have permission to legally work in the UK. There will be plenty of time for them to do this, and they will work closely with businesses and others to look at how they will be affected by these changes.
They are currently looking at what the future immigration system will look like. They will ensure businesses and communities are given the opportunity to contribute their views on this.
