EU Settlement Scheme – Overseas Beneficiaries

The Home Office announced on 18 July that over 900,000 people have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme. But that is still less than a quarter of the estimated 3.7 million EU citizens living in the UK.

With no-deal Brexit legally mandated in absence of further legislation and Brexit being just over three months away, it is advisable for EU citizens in the UK and their family members to apply under the scheme.

The EU Settlement Scheme has been rolled out to help regularise the UK immigration status of EU nationals and their family members post-Brexit. It gives effect to the settlement on Citizens' rights in the Withdrawal Agreement and allows EU nationals and relevant family members who have completed a qualifying period of residence in the UK (usually 5 years) to now obtain settled status (permanent residence) provided they have not subsequently been absent from the UK for a continuous period of more than 5 years.