Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations his Department has received from banks and banking bodies on the immigration checks that they will be required to carry out on EU citizens when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

The Government has made clear that the current arrangements for conducting checks on EU nationals, involving the use of national passports and identity cards, will not change immediately when the UK leaves the EU in March, but will continue during any implementation period.

The Home Office has engaged with a wide range of groups, including UK employers, landlords and financial service providers, on the design of the EU Settlement Scheme and the online service which will enable those granted leave under the scheme to demonstrate their status where required as part of the introduction of the future border and immigration system. We will continue to engage widely as we develop and implement other aspects of the future system.

The Home Office launched a new on-line service for employers conducting right to work checks on 6 April this year, focused initially on checks of non-EU migrants holding biometric residence permits or biometric residence cards. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant first viewing their right to work status, then consenting for the employer to see the data. Employers in receipt of a ‘share code’ provided by the applicant will see the person’s name, facial image and any information which is relevant to their right to work. During any implementation period, use of the new online service by EU citizens will be optional, but in the future border and immigration system this is intended to be the means by which they evidence their status when undergoing statutory immigration checks.