Some 146,000 Portuguese will have to update their post-Brexit residency status in the UK or risk becoming illegal immigrants, according to statistics released on Thursday.
According to the British Home Office, until March 31 they entered the European Union Citizen Registration System. [EU Settlement Scheme, EUSS] 444,490 applications from Portuguese citizens, of which 431,130 were processed.
Of these, 241,320 received permanent status160,750 the provisional title and 29,060 were rejected, invalidated or declared null.
As of March 31, 2022, only 24,960 Portuguese residents in the UK had moved to provisional status (preset state) to permanent status (established state), granted after five years of continuous residence in the country.
This change must be made before the provisional period expires, once the five-year period has expired, and involves repeating the previously made application modality, together with proof of “continuous residence” or justification for prolonged absences.
The process it is mandatory for anyone who wishes to maintain the right to live, work or study in the countrybut some organizations fear that many forget or are unaware of its importance.
A study by the Oxford University Migration Observatory published in March warned of obstacles to updating Britain’s post-Brexit residency status because it requires more information.
“Providing evidence is more difficult for some groups that do not have regular relations with public bodies, such as the homeless, informal workers or some non-working women who care for children,” the document underlines.
Vulnerable people such as the elderly, minors in social services, prisoners, face additional challenges due to lack of information, digital skills or language barrier.
A European or a member of their family can lose provisional resident status if they spend more than six months outside the UK within a 12-month period, but UK authorities have made exceptions, such as health, education, professionals or Covid-19.
Seasonal workers and other temporary migrants with provisional status are at higher risk of not meeting the requirements, and prison sentences also break the required five-year count.
The EUSS was opened in 2019 following the UK’s departure from the European Union to guarantee residence status to citizens of the EU, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein and their close family members from third countries.
Permanent residents can spend up to five continuous years abroad before losing their right to live in the UK.
In total, the UK Home Office has so far received almost 6.6 million requests from Europeans and family members in the scope of the EUSS, with 268.1 thousand unfinished.
Despite the official deadline expiring on June 30, 2021, the UK government continues to accept applications as long as there are “substantial reasons” for the delay, promising a “pragmatic and flexible” approach.
Without proof of status or a certificate of application, European immigrants or their family members lose their residence and work rights and access to health, education and social support services in the UK.
Source: Observadora
