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EU settlement scheme pilot launched

NHS workers, university staff and students in the North West of England will be taking part in a pilot of the new application process for the EU Settlement Scheme.

EU citizens working at 12 NHS Trusts, and students and staff from three universities in Liverpool will be invited to make real applications for settled status through the new digital process.

The pilot will allow those working on the scheme to test the new system. Using real applicants will help them make improvements ahead of the launch of the scheme towards the end of 2018.

The pilot will begin on 28 August 2018.

The initial pilot phase will be accessible by invitation only. Up to 4,000 applicants will be able to apply on a voluntary basis.

Assuming they are eligible, all those who go through the process will be granted settled status.

Certain features to be included in the full settlement scheme application process will not be available during the pilot. While the application process is conducted online, applicants for the pilot will need to attend an appointment with a Home Office representative who will help to take them through the process.

 

Discussion on settlement rights for citizens from Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland

Plans have been outlined to grant UK residents from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway similar rights post-Brexit as those from EU Member States. These developments have come as engagement between the UK and the three EEA EFTA members intensifies.

Agreement was reached in December 2017 to secure the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the 27 EU Member States. Government estimates put the number of people affected as 3 million EU citizens and 1 million UK citizens.

Government officials have met with their EEA EFTA counterparts in order to extend the deal to each other’s citizens.

The existing agreement between the EU and the UK covers residency, healthcare, pensions, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and other benefits. This could be extended to citizens of the three EEA EFTA states and UK citizens resident in these countries. The government estimates there are 18,000 Norwegian nationals, 2,000 Icelandic nationals and 40 Liechtenstein nationals living in the UK, and 15,000 UK nationals in Norway, 800 in Iceland and 60 in Liechtenstein.

EEA EFTA citizens are covered by free movement provisions through the EEA EFTA states’ membership of the European Economic Area Agreement. This allows them to currently move to the UK and other EU states, and similarly UK citizens are able to move to the three EEA EFTA states.

Following their meeting earlier this week the UK and EEA EFTA countries issued the following joint-statement:

Officials from the EEA EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and the United Kingdom met on 12 February 2018 to discuss the agreement reached by the United Kingdom and the European Union on citizens’ rights in December 2017. Positive discussions on these issues took place at the meeting and the parties affirmed their desire to secure the status and protect the rights of UK nationals living in Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and nationals of those countries living in the UK.

Common Travel Area arrangements confirmed for after Brexit

22 December 2017

The Government has announced that, as part of the agreement reached with the EU, the rights enjoyed by British and Irish citizens under the Common Travel Area (CTA) will be protected after the UK leaves the EU.

The CTA allows for the free movement of British and Irish citizens between the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It also guarantees the rights and entitlements to public services of citizens when in the other’s country. The CTA was formed before either the UK or Ireland were members of the EU and means that rights for Irish and UK citizens operate separately and alongside those rights enjoyed by EU nationals.

This means that Irish nationals will not be required to apply for settled status to protect their entitlements in the UK. The right to work, study and access social security and public services will be preserved on a reciprocal basis for UK and Irish nationals.

There will be also be no changes to the current arrangements for journeys between the UK and Ireland. This includes movement across the land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, protecting the uninhibited movement enjoyed today.

Under the CTA, UK and Irish nationals enjoy a range of reciprocal rights – for example:

  • the right to enter and live in each others’ country
  • the right to work
  • the right to access education
  • access to social welfare entitlements and benefits
  • access to health services
  • access to social housing
  • the right to vote in local and parliamentary elections.

In short, Irish citizens residing in Great Britain do not need to do anything to ensure that their family and working lives will continue as they do now. Irish citizens’ rights under the CTA will be protected after the UK leaves the EU. And, specifically, this also applies to Irish citizens residing in Northern Ireland.

Another group of people whose rights will be protected after Brexit are frontier workers. In this particular situation a frontier worker is defined as a citizen of another EU country, living in Ireland and working in Northern Ireland. The UK Government has made that it clear that people in this category will have their rights protected after Brexit has taken place.

 

Home Secretary gives more details on settlement for EU nationals

19 December 2017

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has written to EU nationals resident in the UK to reassure them about their future in the UK after Brexit.

This follows information provided recently by the Prime Minister, Theresa May, about negotiations and an agreement reached with the EU, details of which can be found here.

Ms Rudd emphasised that the agreement reached would ensure the rights that EU nationals and their families currently have would remain broadly the same after Brexit with access to healthcare, benefits and pensions protected. And close family members living outside the UK would retain the right to join EU nationals in the UK in the future.

Ms Rudd says the Home Office has been working hard to build the digital system that EU nationals will use use to get their new settled status. She says it is being designed from scratch to be quick and simple to use. She maintains that there won’t be bureaucratic hurdles – those processing applications will work in favour of applicants.

Ms Rudd also confirmed that the application for settled status will cost no more than the fee a British person pays for a passport.  If an applicant already has valid permanent residence documentation then the application process will be free. She says there will be support for vulnerable people and those without access to a computer. And the Government is consulting with EU citizens’ representatives and embassies to ensure the system works for everyone.

Ms Rudd says more detail about the settled status scheme will be released in the new year. It is expected that applications will open during the second half of 2018.

 

Update on EU citizens’ rights after Brexit

11 December 2017

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has further clarified the rights of EU citizens after Brexit. Her comments follow the conclusion of the latest round of negotiations with the European Commission.

The assurances the Prime Minister made included:

  • That the rights of EU citizens will be written into UK law.
  • That those rights will be enforced by UK courts. Where appropriate, UK courts will pay due regard to relevant European Court of Justice (ECJ) case law, and where existing case law is not clear – UK courts will be able to choose to ask the ECJ for an interpretation prior to reaching their decision.
  • A new settled status scheme will be introduced for EU citizens and their family members.

Key features of the new settled status scheme will be:

  • If an EU citizen already has five years of continuous residence in the UK at Brexit (29 March 2019) – they will be eligible for settled status.
  • If they have been here for less than five years they will be able to stay until they reach the five year threshold.
  • EU citizens with settled status can be joined in the UK by close family members after the UK has left the EU. This includes existing spouses, unmarried partners, children, dependent parents and grandparents.
  • Healthcare rights, pension and other benefit provisions will remain the same as they are today.
  • EU citizens with settled status will be able to be absent from the UK for up to five years without losing their status – more than double the period allowed under current EU law.

The agreement reached with the EU  includes reciprocal rules to protect existing decisions to recognise professional qualifications – for example for doctors and architects.

The Government says it will introduce a transparent, smooth and streamlined process to enable EU citizens to apply for settled status from the second half of next year. And it says the process will cost no more than applying for a passport. And if you already have a valid permanent resident document you will be able to have your status converted to settled status free of charge.

The Government also says that it is working closely with Switzerland and EEA Member States to ensure their citizens in the UK also benefit from these arrangements.

Home Office announces independent assessment of EU citizens in the UK

The Home Office have announced that they will conduct an independent assessment of the role that EU citizens play in the UK economy and society. The report has been commissioned over a year after the referendum vote to leave the EU, and its results will be delivered in September 2018, seven months before the Brexit deadline.

The review will be carried out by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and will look into to focus the study on patterns of EU and EEA (European Economic Area) migration, considering regional distribution; skill levels; industry sectors and the role of the self-employed, part-time, agency, temporary and seasonal workers. The review will focus on the situation post-Brexit which means it will not relate to EU citizens who are already living in the UK.

The full set of questions given to the MAC are as follows:

EU and EEA Migration

  • Drawing on existing sources where appropriate, the MAC should set out current patterns of EU and EEA migration, looking at:
    • sectors,
    • regional distribution,
    • skill levels,
    • duration of assignments
    • self employment, entrepreneurs, part time, agency, temporary and seasonal workers; and
    • any other characteristics the MAC considers relevant;

    The MAC should consider the evolution of EU and EEA migration since 2000 and possible future trends (absent new immigration controls).

  • What are the methods of recruitment used by UK employers to employ EU and EEA migrants and how does this impact on UK workers?
  • What are the economic and social costs and benefits, including fiscal impacts to the UK economy and impacts on public services and infrastructure of EU and EEA migration?
  • Is it possible to estimate the potential impact of any future reductions in EU and EEA migration (whether occurring naturally or through policy), at a range of levels and how may these be felt differently across the economy and society? This may include a consideration of the impacts on the different parts of the UK, within the context of designing a UK-wide immigration system. How could business adjust if EU and EEA net migration was substantially reduced? What mitigating actions could be taken by employers and government and over what timescale?

Aligning the UK immigration system with a modern industrial strategy

  • What is the current impact of immigration, both EU, EEA and non-EEA, on the competitiveness of UK industry, including on productivity, innovation and labour market flexibility?
  • What impact does immigration have on skills and training?
  • Is there any evidence that the free availability of unskilled labour has contributed to the UK’s relatively low rate of investment in some sectors?
  • Are there advantages to focusing migrant labour on highly skilled jobs or across the entire skills spectrum?
  • Does the shortage occupation list need to be amended to include skills shortages at lower skills levels than NQF6?

The UK Government has already published its initial position with regards to EU citizens in the UK in a technical note along with some guidance for EU citizens living in the UK. The UK government have already confirmed the following:

  • EU citizens with settled status – those who have been here for five or more years – will continue to be treated as if they were UK nationals for education, healthcare, benefits, pensions and social housing after we leave the EU.
  • No EU citizen currently in the UK lawfully will be asked to leave when the UK leaves the EU. There will be a two-year transitional period for EU citizens to apply for permanent residence.
  • The process to apply for settled status will be streamlined and user friendly, and up and running by 2018.

However, various things are still to be confirmed, including what rights EU citizens will have to vote, and how much time they will be able to spend outside the UK after Brexit.