Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what processes his Department has put in place for an EU citizen arriving in the UK to prove to immigration officials at the point of entry that they are eligible to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme in the event that freedom of movement between the EU and UK ends on 1 November 2019; and if she will make a statement.

We are leaving the European Union on 31 October 2019 and, in a no deal Brexit, freedom of movement as it currently stands will end then.

The Prime Minister has been clear that we want EU citizens who are resident in the UK by exit to stay and they will be eligible for status under the EU Settlement Scheme to enable them to do so. In a no deal Brexit, they will have until at least 31 December 2020 to apply. Until then, they will continue to be able to use their EU passport or national identity card to prove their rights to work and rent property; and will have the same rights to work and access benefits and services as they have now.

Border crossing arrangements will not change on 1 November 2019; EU citizens will continue to cross the border as they do now, using their passport or national identity card. They will be able to use e-Gates if they are travelling on a biometric passport, and they will not face routine intentions testing.