Report looks at challenges people face when needing to reapply to EUSS to obtain full settled status
The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford yesterday published a useful and important new report examining the potential problems that lie ahead for EU citizens in the UK who have been granted pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
You can download the 21-page report here or read it online here.
Pre-settled status is a temporary residence authorisation granted to EU citizens who had been living in the UK for less than five years before free movement ended on 31 December 2020 (as opposed to settled status, which required proof of at least five years continuous residence in the UK).
According to Home Office statistics, over two million people held pre-settled status by the end of September 2021.
As the Migration Observatory notes, pre-settled status is only granted for five years. People with pre-settled status will need to make a further application to the EUSS in order to obtain settled status if they want permanent residence in the UK. Those who do not successfully reapply could end up being classed as 'irregular migrants' and they risk losing their rights to live, work, and access services in the UK.
The Migration Observatory's report looks at the logistical and policy challenges associated with the need for people with pre-settled status to reapply to the EUSS.
The report states: "Currently, nobody is yet required to have upgraded from pre-settled to settled status, because pre-settled status lasts for five years and the first EUSS grants were only given in the second half of 2018 during the early Testing Phase of the scheme. Most grants of pre-settled status took place later, in 2019 and 2020. However, substantial numbers of pre-settle status holders will be required to apply again to the EUSS in the coming years—starting from the second half of 2023."
Dr. Marina Fernandez Reino, Senior Researcher at the Migration Observatory, said that while most applicants will find the process very straightforward, more vulnerable groups could struggle.
"Over the past three years, the evidence has become clear that some people find it much harder to engage with the scheme, including such as victims of abuse, people with poor English skills, or those with health problems. Many of the same groups will struggle to secure permanent status, especially if there is less support available to them in the coming years," Fernandez Reino added.
The report identifies the following three main reasons why some residents with pre-settled status, especially those who are vulnerable, will fail to secure settled status in the future:
- Failure to reapply: some pre-settled status holders do not realise or remember that they must apply for a second time to continue living lawfully in the UK. Even if they do, some will face some barrier to doing so (e.g. they may not be able to access the support they need).
- Difficulty proving eligibility: some applicants struggle to provide evidence of their residence, and this is more difficult at the settled status stage when 5 years of continuous residence in the UK is required. Some non-EU applicants also struggle to provide evidence of their past or present relationship with an EU citizen. While many EU applicants rely on automated checks, others will have to produce and submit their own documentary evidence of their UK residence in order to qualify for the settled status upgrade.
- Becoming ineligible: some pre-settled status holders will inadvertently become ineligible for settled status due to, for example, a long absence from the UK, a prison sentence, or the breakdown of a family relationship with an EU citizen.
A particular source of confusion for many pre-settle status holders is over how absences from the UK can affect their status, the Migration Observatory notes.
For example, a person will automatically lose their pre-settled status if they live outside of the UK for a period of two consecutive years or more. In addition: "[P]re-settled status holders can lose their path to permanent residence if they spend more than 6 months in any 12 month period overseas, unless the absence is for an important reason or is Covid-19 related. Pre-settled status holders who are doing compulsory military service, are in crown service, or work in the UK's marine area are allowed unlimited amount of time outside the UK without breaking continuous residence."
People may be also confused over when they can apply to upgrade their status from pre-settled to settled.
The Home Office states: "You can switch to settled status as soon as you've had 5 years' continuous residence, or sooner if you're eligible before 5 years. The 5 years is counted from the day you started your continuous residence, not the day you were granted pre-settled status."
As the Migration Observatory notes, whereas the EUSS had a single application deadline of 31 June 2021 for all EU citizens, people with pre-settled status now face their own individual deadlines to upgrade their status.
The report comments: "This will make outreach and awareness campaigns more challenging, as there is not a single deadline that applies to all residents with pre-settled status. The first cohort of pre-settled status holders (those receiving pre-settled status during the Testing Phases of the EUSS between August 2018 and March 2019) will have to apply for settled status between August 2023 and March 2024, five years after their status was granted, although many will upgrade as soon as they are eligible. It is uncertain which will be the last cohort of presettled status holders, as the Home Office is still issuing grants of status and many people are applying after the 30 June 2021 deadline, including joining family members of EU citizens with status, who can apply at any time in the future. For example, applicants whose pre-settled status was granted in January 2022 will not be legally required to upgrade their status until January 2027."
Meanwhile, the EU citizens' campaign group the3million yesterday released a comprehensive new report that was submitted to the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) examining the challenges people face maintaining their digital and online-only EUSS status.
The report explains: "The UK Government has established an online portal whereby people granted EU Settlement Scheme status can view and share it. This portal is the only way for status holders to correctly prove they are able to live lawfully in the UK. It is called 'View and Prove'. […] This IMA report (our fourth) analyses problems reported to us associated with maintaining access to View and Prove."
The 92-page report can be downloaded here.
the3million said on Twitter: "The report analyses problems maintaining access to View and Prove, the key way in which people prove their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. We consider the trends and find it is not sustainable in its current form. People must maintain multiple elements of their View & Prove account to maintain access. We have accounts of errors and delays at each point of maintenance with severe impacts: from loss of employment opportunities, to restrictions on travel and inability to view or prove status. Problems with the portal lead to people contacting the Home Office's helplines. And here we are seeing reports of staff unable to help or give progress updates, and many unable to get connected to a staff member at all.
"Even with these recommendations implemented, we do not believe that View & Prove in isolation is a viable means for people to prove their status. Alternatives need to be explored to ensure that people can have personal access to, and ownership of, proof of their right to live in the UK, rather than having to repeatedly obtain permission from the Home Office acting as a gatekeeper to their status. The reliance on this system is only growing. From 6th April, all migrants will have to prove their right to work/rent through the digital-only system. Any digital representation of status must be workable so that everyone can access and prove their rights."