EU citizens and their family members who meet certain criteria and currently reside in the UK are now able to apply for a settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, which was opened for public testing on 21 January 2019.
In order to be eligible to apply during the public test phase an applicant must be a resident EU citizen with a valid EU biometric passport or the non-EU citizen family member of an EU citizen with a biometric residence card and have access to an Android device with NFC (Near-Field Communication) to use the “EU Exit: ID Document Check” app to verify their identity.
Once the applicant’s identity and nationality have been verified using the app, they are required to complete the rest of the application either on the same device or any smartphone, laptop or computer. If the app is not able to read the chip in the applicant’s passport or residence card, however, the applicant will be asked to send the original document to the Home Office for manual verification of their identity and nationality, and details of how to do that are provided in the application.
Those EU citizens and their non-EU family members as well as citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland who are not eligible to apply during the public test phase will be able to make their applications once the scheme is fully open on 30 March 2019.
EU citizens and their family members therefore currently have the following options: either to apply under the EEA regulations presently in force, or, provided they meet the above criteria, under the new EU Settlement Scheme during the test phase, or after the EU Settlement Scheme is fully open to all applicants from 30 March 2019.
As reported previously, the deadline for applications for settled and pre-settled status is currently set for 30 June 2021. However, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal the deadline for applications is currently set to be 31 December 2020.
Gherson has extensive experience of assisting with applications under the EEA Regulations. Should you require professional advice and assistance with respect to any aspects of such applications, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2019
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