Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the requirement for people who have proved their residency rights through the EU Settlement Scheme to do so again when applying for British Citizenship.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The EUSS only looks at physical presence and not lawful residence, and so there may be cases where nationality caseworkers need to satisfy themselves the person was here lawfully, when applicants are applying for British citizenship.
This is not a new requirement and was an assessment we have always been making. In most cases this will not involve any additional evidence, for example where the person was working in the UK and so clearly in the UK in accordance with EEA regulations.
There may be cases, however, where it is not clear on what basis a person was in the UK and so we will need to make further enquiries to establish lawful residence. This is a statutory requirement and cannot be ignored and applies to all applicants for British Citizenship.
We have amended the application forms to ensure we can gather as much of this information upfront at the application stage where possible.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of EU citizens residing in the UK who still need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
The total number of applications received up to 31 April 2021 was 5.42 million (5,423,300).
The latest published information on EU Settlement Scheme applications received can be found on the Home Office’s ‘EU Settlement Scheme statistics’ web page available at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/eu-settlement-scheme-statistics
The published figures refer specifically to applications made to the EU Settlement Scheme and cannot be directly compared with estimates of the resident population of EU/EEA nationals in the UK.
The published figures include non-EEA family members, Irish nationals, and eligible EEA citizens not resident in the UK, none of whom are usually included in estimates of the resident EU population.
Furthermore, the population estimates do not take account of people’s migration intentions and will include people who have come to the UK for a range of purposes, including some who have no intention to settle in the UK.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 181333 on Immigration: EU Nationals, what her Department's policy is in circumstances where an individual who is required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme is unable to prove that they had reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In line with the general approach under the EU Settlement Scheme of looking to grant status, rather than for reasons to refuse, the Home Office will take a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering, in light of the circumstances of each case, whether there are reasonable grounds for an individual’s failure to meet the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Non-exhaustive guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the deadline can be found at pages 26 to 44 of the main caseworker guidance for the scheme, which is available here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-caseworker-guidance.
The guidance will underpin a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering late applications under the scheme, in light of the circumstances of each case.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of need to provide physical documentation to prove someone has Settled Status, particularly for people who do not have access to IT equipment or their digital documents.
Answered by Kevin Foster
As part of the development of the EU Settlement Scheme, including the policy to provide those granted status with online evidence of immigration status instead of a physical document, consideration was given to the impact on those who may have limited digital skills or access to IT equipment. The Policy Equality Statement for the scheme can be found at:
Since the launch of the scheme, we have continued to assess the needs of users, and take steps to ensure those who may be less able to interact digitally are not disadvantaged. This has included making information about an individual’s immigration status available automatically through system to system checks, at the point at which they seek to access the public services. Such checking services are already live for HM Revenue & Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions and NHS England, and will reduce the occasions on which an individual has to use the online service to prove their status. We would be pleased to work with NHS Scotland to implement a similar checking service there relating to services which are the devolved responsibility of the Scottish Government if they wish to do so.
The UK Government has also put in place additional support services, to help those who require assistance to use the online immigration status service. We have a dedicated phone helpline (the Settlement Resolution Centre) where call operators can support users through the online journey, help them to access or recover their online account, help them to update their personal details and where necessary, share status on their behalf if they are unable to do so themselves. The Settlement Resolution Centre will also be able to assist those who are experiencing technical issues with their online immigration status, and if necessary, enable an individual’s status to be verified through alternative means.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including a downloadable paper application form for the EU Settlement Scheme on the Government website.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Where a person needs to apply to the scheme using a paper application form, this can be obtained from the EU Settlement Resolution Centre. This is open seven days a week to provide assistance to applicants over the telephone and by email, including in ensuring they can easily obtain the paper application form appropriate to their circumstances where they need one.
Assistance for applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme is also available via a network of 72 organisations across the UK, for which £22 million in grant funding has been made available by the Home Office, and via the Assisted Digital service, which can provide help over the telephone or in person in completing an application online.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 181333 on Immigration: EU Nationals, what her Department's policy is in circumstances where an individual who is required to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme is unable to prove that they had reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of the Government directly contacting care home operators to ensure those operators are aware of the need for vulnerable and isolated residents to apply to the EU Settled Scheme.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Home Office officials have undertaken a range of work to reach care home operators and vulnerable applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
The Home Office is also working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government to ensure local authorities and care provider organisations are aware of the need to support those in care to submit applications. NHS employers, Scottish Social services and Wales Social care also sit on EUSS advisory groups which have been running since the Scheme launched in 2018.
A comprehensive three-year campaign has increased awareness of the need to apply to EUSS, targeting employers, including social care sector employers, and EEA and Swiss citizens themselves.
The Home Office has also provided up to £17million in grant funding to a grant funded network of 72 organisations provide bespoke support to vulnerable and hard to reach EU citizens and their family members eligible to apply to EUSS. Grant funded organisations include the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), and the Institute Organization for Migration (IOM) who work closely with local authorities. Earlier this year, the Home Office announced a further £4.5 million of funding to the 72 organisations to continue the support services well beyond the 30 June 2021 deadline.
As of 31 March 2021, 5.3 million applications had been received to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), and 4.98 million applications have been concluded, delivering on the government’s promise to secure the rights of millions of Europeans in UK law for years to come.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government plans to take in the event that an individual who is required to apply for EU Settled Status is unable to do so before the 30 June 2021 deadline.
Answered by Kevin Foster
In line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements, the Government has made clear where a person eligible for status under the EU Settlement Scheme has reasonable grounds for missing the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications by those resident in the UK by the end of the transition period, they will be given a further opportunity to apply.
Non-exhaustive guidance on what constitutes reasonable grounds for missing the deadline can be found at pages 26 to 44 of the main caseworker guidance for the scheme, which is available here:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-caseworker-guidance.
The guidance will underpin a flexible and pragmatic approach to considering late applications under the scheme, in light of the circumstances of each case.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the need for paper applications to be made available for people with no access to online services or who are IT illiterate when applying for EU Settled Status.
Answered by Kevin Foster
Assistance for applicants to the EU Settlement Scheme is available via a network of 72 organisations across the UK, for which £22 million in grant funding has been made available by the Home Office, and via the Assisted Digital service, which can provide help over the telephone or in person in completing an application online.
Where a person needs to apply using a paper application form, this can be obtained from the EU Settlement Resolution Centre, which is open seven days a week to provide assistance over the telephone and by email.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the processing time for EU Settled Scheme applications is five working days.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We currently have 1,500 UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) European Casework staff in post. We are committed to ensuring our operational teams have the resources they need to run an efficient and effective system, and we actively monitor workflows to ensure sufficient resources are in place to meet demand.
Our aim is to process all applications to the Scheme as quickly as possible. The majority of applications are concluded within 5 working days, but cases may take longer dependent on the circumstances of the case, for example if the applicant is facing an impending prosecution or has a criminal record.
The following link lists the expected processing times for EU Settlement Scheme applications, based upon current performance: