EU Settlement Scheme Opens for Most EU Nationals; Application Fees Eliminated

The situation

According to an announcement by the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, the pilot scheme for EU nationals and their family members to apply for confirmation of immigration status in the United Kingdom has been expanded.

A closer look

Key related developments include:

• Fee eliminated. The previously-confirmed application fee for the scheme of GBP 65 for adults and GBP 32.50 for children has been eliminated. Refunds will be arranged for those who have already paid, however there are no details about how reimbursements will be processed.
• No-Deal Brexit. Although Theresa May reconfirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to honour the rights of EU nationals in the United Kingdom prior to Brexit, she stated that she will not rule out the United Kingdom exiting the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement.

Background

The EU settlement scheme is the application process by which EU nationals and their non-EU family members will apply for confirmation of their UK immigration status and right to work and reside in the United Kingdom. A pilot of the scheme was completed in October 2018.

Impact

• EU nationals in the United Kingdom. EU nationals and their family members will not be required to pay application fees for confirmation of their status under the EU settlement scheme as of March 30, 2019. Those applying before that date will have their fees reimbursed. Since there is no information on how refunds will be processed, EU nationals may prefer to wait to apply after March 30, 2019 to avoid having to pay the fee and seek reimbursement thereafter.
• UK nationals in the European Union. The UK government will be pushing EU Member States for confirmation that no fee will apply for UK nationals submitting applications to secure their immigration status in the European Union.
• Employers. Employers should continue to plan for a no-deal Brexit and set up contingency plans for their affected employees and their business as a whole. Fragomen can advise on a range of options.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].