By Ben Kerrigan-
The deadline for applying for post-Brexit residency under the government’s EU Settlement Scheme passes at midnight, with claims of a backlog of more than 300,000 cases.
Some EU citizens who have lived in the UK for many years have claim the process of applying for the scheme has been so stressful they have felt suicidal.
EU nationals and their families have had to apply by the end of this month to confirm their immigration status in order to continue living and working in the UK now the Brexit transition period and freedom of movement have ended.
Labour has called for a three-month extension because of delays and problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ministers have so far insisted this will not happen.Speaking ahead of the deadline, Home Office minister Kevin Foster said: “We’ve had literally millions of applications and we’re still getting thousands every day ahead of the deadline.
On Thursday, EU citizens who have not applied could end up formally losing their legal right to work, rent housing and access some hospital treatments or welfare benefits in the UK., and potentially even be subject to deportation.
Those granted settled status, by comparison, will enjoy indefinite leave to remain in the UK and retain the same residence, travel, employment and healthcare rights they had before Brexit, which ended reciprocal freedom of movement between the UK and the EU.
Campaigners are worried that up to thousands of EU citizens may not apply in time and risk losing their access to public services.
In particular, there are concerns that some older people who have lived in the UK for decades are not aware they have to apply.
Vulnerable people meanwhile, such as those in social care or homeless EU migrants, are in danger of falling through the cracks and ending up with no legal status.
hese fears evoke memories of the recent Windrush scandal, which saw people from the Caribbean and their descendants, who legally settled in the UK decades ago, wrongly caught up in tough government rules to crack down on undocumented immigration.
Some members of the Windrush generation – named after the ship that carried the first post-war migrants from the West Indies – were deported because they could not produce paperwork proving their residency rights.
“So we believe the overwhelming majority have now applied, but there are provision for late applications when people have reasonable grounds for making one.”
On late applications, he said: “What we’ve said is we’ll take a practical and compassionate approach to those who haven’t applied, particularly where there may be vulnerabilities or obvious reasonable grounds such as children whose parents may not have applied for them.
“But if you’ve got any concerns on your position on July 1 then our position is simple: Don’t delay, apply today.
“We will take a practical and compassionate approach where people need to make a late application. And we’ve already confirmed, for example, when we come across in our immigration enforcement work who could have applied but have missed the deadline, we will give them 28 days to make a late application.”
Mr Foster added: “We’ve already had millions of applications, millions of statuses granted, so we believe the vast and overwhelming number of people who are eligible to apply have done so.
“But people still have until midnight tonight. We’ve received literally thousands of applications over the last few days and we look to receive many more up to midnight tonight.”
Answering an urgent question in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Foster said more than 5.6 million applications had been received by the end of May, with 5.2 million concluded.
“Whilst the deadline is tomorrow, we will take a pragmatic and flexible approach to considering late applications made after the deadline,” he said.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the scheme has been “really effective and slick” for those who had applied.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, she told Sky News: “So it has been a phenomenal scheme. My mother who is French but has lived in the UK for most of her life applied and it was a very efficient process for her to do.
“And it is a phenomenal effort that, as you say, 5.2 million people have applied and been through this process.”
Ms Trevelyan said the scheme has been “an extraordinary effort”, adding that “sometimes government processes can be difficult – this one was a really effective and slick one for those 5.2 million people”.
Pressed on whether those who have applications yet to be processed will be denied benefits, she added: “So I imagine that if they are in the system that they will then be processed.” Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told MPs: “Leaked documents suggest that 130,000 people in receipt of benefits have yet to sign-up and that support could be taken away.
“The Children’s Society has estimated that applications have not been made for over 2,000 children in care or care leavers. That’s why we have called for an extension to the EU Settlement Scheme until the end of September.”
While the government comes under political pressure to extend its deadline, many EU citizens living in the UK have spoken of the distress caused by the new regimeE
“My husband needs a lot of support and help. The stress levels in our household are unbelievable. All this on top of the pandemic and related issues is making both of us ill.”
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “using every possible channel” to encourage those who have not already done so to apply for the scheme.
“There have already been more than 5 million grants of status under the hugely successful EU Settlement Scheme. EU citizens who have submitted a valid application by 30 June will have their rights protected in law,” they said.
“We have run an extensive advertising campaign on the scheme and made available up to £22 million in funding, up until the end of September 2021, for a network of now 72 organisations across the UK to help vulnerable people apply to the scheme.
“The government is using every possible channel to encourage anyone who is eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme to apply before the 30 June deadline.”