London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

EU citizens in UK face 28-day notice if they miss settled status deadline

EU citizens in UK face 28-day notice if they miss settled status deadline

Tens of thousands to be issued with warnings to submit applications for post-Brexit scheme or risk losing rights
Tens of thousands of EU citizens living in the UK will be issued with a formal 28-day notice if they have failed to apply for post-Brexit settled status within a week, the government has warned.

The notices will tell them to submit an application or risk consequences which include losing their rights to healthcare and employment.

With a week to go before the Wednesday 30 June deadline for the EU settlement scheme, the Home Office is redoubling efforts to reach those who do not know about the rule change, including vulnerable groups such as elderly people and children in care.

Immigration minister Kevin Foster said it had ruled out extending the deadline despite a huge surge in applications, now running at 10,000 to 12,000 a day.

“Put simply, extending the deadline is not the solution to reaching those people who have not yet applied, and we would just be in a position further down the line where we would be asked to extend again, creating more uncertainties,” he said.

However, he said EU citizens who had had failed to apply by the deadline would not see their social welfare benefits cut off from 1 July and promised the Home Office would be flexible and lenient.

The Home Office has had 5.6m settled status applications from EU citizens including some repeats. Officials revealed a backlog of 400,000 which may take until the end of the summer to process.

It has received 1.5m helpline calls and 500,000 requests for help through an online contact form – an indication of the unprecedented scale of the exercise and the challenges many are facing.

To accommodate those who will not have a decision for months, the government will issue a “certificate of application” which all applicants can “rely on as proof to access their right to work or rent”, Foster said. It can also be used to access the NHS. “People will not lose their benefits next week,” Foster told members of a House of Lords committee.

In a briefing to reporters on Tuesday, the Home Office said it would work with individuals to find out their reasons for not applying rather than deport them.

“We’ll set up the support available and we’ll signpost people to make an application, but we do recognise that there may be some people who, after that 28 days, still haven’t been able to make an application, and then I think we would want to work with them to understand why that is the case, and then support them again to make the application,” said an official.

The flexible approach is not expected to be permanent, however, and under immigration rules EU citizens who make late applications will have to provide “reasonable grounds” for not applying. Among those set to be issued with a 28-day notice are EU citizens unable to evidence their right to work, who might be identified by immigration enforcement teams making checks on employers.

The Home Office said the NHS will continue to be available to those who have certificate of application and “urgent treatment” would never be refused.

It warned that employers or landlords do not have to do retrospective checks on their workers and those who reject future workers or tenants on the grounds that they have not yet been granted official post-Brexit status can be sued on discrimination grounds.

The new rules were brought in as a result of the UK’s departure from the EU and are designed to protect those already living in the UK and British citizens already settled in the EU when Brexit came into force on 1 January this year.

The Home Office said it was concerned that British nationals were facing issues in relation to reciprocal residency rights in some EU countries including Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal and had raised this with the EU ambassador on Tuesday.

Part of the government’s policy is driven by the Brexit pledge to “take back control” of the borders and reduce immigration.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
×