Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures his Department have established to ensure the accurate calculation of the length of time that (a) non-UK EU and (b) EEA nationals have continuously and lawfully lived in the UK.

It is not necessary for EU citizens applying for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme to demonstrate the exact length of time that they have continuously lived in the UK. The Home Office simply needs to establish whether they have continuously lived in the UK for more or less than five years in order to grant settled or pre-settled status accordingly.

In most cases we can do this via automated checks on tax and benefits records, with an opportunity for applicants to provide additional documen-tary evidence as necessary. In these cases we will work with applicants to help them identify the most suitable evidence and, as outlined in the pub-lished caseworker guidance, will accept a wide range of documentation