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.

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.