North West Skills Academy, as a provider has always and will continue to engage with a lot of people from European Union countries. This post offers guidance and lines of support for anybody who may need it.
The United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union on 31 October 2019. This section sets out the immigration arrangements for EU citizens if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
This section sets out the different arrangements that will apply to EU citizens who are moving to the UK after Brexit on 31 October 2019 and their family members. They replace those set out in the policy paper that was published on 28 January 2019.
Summary
After Brexit, EU citizens who move to the UK will be able to apply for a 36-month temporary immigration status – European Temporary Leave to Remain (Euro TLR).
Applications to the new Euro TLR scheme will be simple and free and will be made after arrival in the UK. There will be no need for EU citizens travelling to the UK after Brexit to make any special arrangements in advance.
There will be some visible changes at the UK border, and tougher rules for criminals but otherwise EU citizens will be able to cross the UK border as now.
EU citizens who move to the UK after Brexit and who do not apply for Euro TLR will need to leave the UK by 31 December 2020 unless they have applied for and obtained a UK immigration status under the UK’s new points-based immigration system.
EU citizens who are resident in the UK before Brexit on 31 October 2019
The immigration arrangements in this paper do not apply to those EU citizens who are resident here before 2300 hours on 31 October 2019 and their family members. The government has been clear that we want them to stay and they are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to obtain a UK immigration status which will enable them to do so.
Resident EU citizens have until at least 31 December 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Until then, they can continue to take up employment and rent property as now by showing their passport or national identity card. Their rights to claim benefits and access services in the UK will remain unchanged. Further information about the EU Settlement Scheme is available on GOV.UK.
EU citizens moving to the UK after Brexit
For a transitional period after Brexit on 31 October 2019 until 31 December 2020, law abiding EU citizens and their family members will be able to move to the UK and live, study, work and access benefits and services as they do now.
EU citizens and their close family members who move to the UK after Brexit and wish to stay beyond 2020 will need to apply for a UK immigration status granting them permission to stay.
After Brexit, the Home Office will open a new voluntary immigration scheme – the European temporary leave to remain (Euro TLR) Scheme – to provide a route to apply for this immigration status. Applications will involve a simple online process and identity, security and criminality checks.
Successful applicants to the Euro TLR scheme will be granted a period of 36 months’ leave to remain in the UK, running from the date the leave is granted. This will provide EU citizens who move to the UK after exit and their employers with greater confidence and certainty during the transition period and ensure that they have a secure legal status in the UK before the new immigration system is introduced from January 2021.
EU citizens may choose to use the evidence of this UK leave – in the form of a secure digital status – to establish their entitlements to work and rent property during the transitional period until 31 December 2020. During this period, they will also be able to evidence those rights using their passport or national identity card.
If they subsequently qualify for leave under the future immigration system in a route that leads to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) here, an EU citizen who spends time in the UK with a Euro TLR immigration status will be able to accrue that time towards the qualifying period for settlement.
Future immigration system
The government will introduce a new, Australian-style points-based immigration system from January 2021. The independent Migration Advisory Committee has been commissioned to review the Australian system and other international comparators, to advise what best practice can be used to strengthen our labour market. We will introduce a new, fairer immigration system that prioritises skills and what people can contribute to the UK, rather than where they came from.
EU citizens who move to the UK after Brexit who do not hold Euro TLR will need to apply under the new immigration system by 31 December 2020 if they wish to remain here beyond that date.
Those who hold Euro TLR will have a bridge into the new immigration system: if they wish to remain in the UK, they will only be required to apply to the new points-based immigration system when their 36 months’ Euro TLR leave expires. They may apply for status under the new system earlier if they wish.
Where an individual who holds Euro TLR does not meet the requisite criteria under the new immigration system or otherwise have a right to remain in the UK, they will be expected to leave the UK when their Euro TLR expires. Euro TLR will therefore only provide a temporary stay in the UK for some EU citizens.
Where an EU citizen is granted permission to stay under the new, points-based immigration system in a route that leads to settlement (indefinite leave to remain) in the UK, their 36 months’ Euro TLR will count towards the qualifying residence period for settlement. The qualifying residence period is usually five years but may vary according to route. Precise arrangements under the new, points-based immigration system will be confirmed in due course.
EU citizens and their family members who move to the UK after 31 October 2019 will need to have applied for a UK immigration status (whether Euro TLR or under the new, points-based immigration system) by 31 December 2020. Otherwise, they will be here unlawfully and will be liable to enforcement action, detention and removal as an immigration offender.
Resident EU citizens and their family members who are eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme will have ample opportunity to apply for status under the scheme. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the deadline for applications under the scheme will be 31 December 2020.
Employers, landlords and other third parties will not be required to distinguish between EU citizens who moved to the UK before or after Brexit until the new, points-based immigration system is introduced from January 2021.
For any more guidance you can visit https://www.gov.uk/brexit, if you need any assistance at all you can visit our Facebook page, or contact us on [email protected].
