Unfortunately, it would seem that this letter was also sent to a large number of EEA nationals who either already hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or who are themselves, British citizens.
Understandably, such a notification has caused widespread concern, as many who received the letter were panicked at the thought of their current status as pre-settled or settled, or as a British citizen, was suddenly in jeopardy.
It is understood that this mailing was done on a mass scale in order to reach as many eligible people as possible, and remind those relevant few amongst them who may have not yet registered under the EU Settlement Scheme to do so at the earliest opportunity. Unfortunately, this notification was contained further into the notification letter, and therefore not immediately seen by all recipients.
Therefore, in the interest of clarity, the below serves to define those who hold British nationality, those who have status under the EU Settlement Scheme, those who need to apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme, and what steps are required for each.
British Nationals:
Those EEA nationals who have applied for British Citizenship, have attended a citizenship ceremony, received their Certificate of Naturalisation as a British citizen and who subsequently hold a British passport, are British citizens. Such individuals are not required to apply under the EU Settlement Scheme as a result of Brexit, and should not do so.
EEA citizens who hold status under the EU Settlement Scheme:
Those EEA nationals who have submitted an application under the EU Settlement Scheme and have been granted either Pre-Settled or Settled Status, therefore hold status under the UK Immigration Rules and are not required to apply again under the scheme.
PLEASE NOTE: those who hold pre-settled status would have been granted permission to remain in the UK for a five year period and, therefore, will need to apply for Settled Status under the EU Settlement Scheme upon the completion of five continuous years of residency in the UK.
EEA Nationals in the UK with permission to remain under the EEA Regulations or who simply hold no status:
With the end of the Brexit Transition Period on 31 December 2021, Freedom of Movement no longer exists in the UK and all EU nationals must apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme in order to be able to remain in the UK lawfully. It is these individuals who are the intended recipients of the Home Office letter mentioned above. These individuals technically do not currently hold valid status to remain in the UK, and therefore must attain valid status under the EU Settlement Scheme and, therefore, under UK immigration law.
For those who fall into the last two categories above and wish to progress towards attaining British citizenship, there are a number of requirements which must be met prior to being able to make such an application. The specificity of these requirements should be judged on a case-by-case basis, however, the main requirements can be found below for those EEA nationals wishing to attain British citizenship.
Period:
Applicants for British citizenship generally must evidence a five-year continuous period of residency in the UK. Additionally, applicants must have held Settled Status or Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (which means free from immigration control) for a minimum of 12 months prior to being able to apply for citizenship.
Those who are married to a British national will be required to evidence a three-year continuous period of residency directly before applying to become a British citizen, and are also required to have been free from immigration control in the UK for a minimum of 12 months prior to becoming eligible to apply for citizenship.
Absences:
Applicants are required to evidence no more than 450 days of absence from the UK in their five-year continuous period, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months of this five year continuous period.
Those married to British citizens are similarly required to evidence no more than 270 days in their qualifying three year period, and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months of this three year period.
There is the potential to request that discretion is exercised for those who may fall outside of this requirement, however, this will depend on the overall level of absences and the specific reason for one’s excessive absences. Such instances must be considered specifically on a case-by-case basis.
Proof of exercising Treaty Rights for EEA nationals:
EEA nationals in the UK prior to Brexit, who were resident in the UK due to Freedom of Movement, must evidence that they were resident in the UK lawfully. To be lawfully resident in the UK under the EEA regulations one must be actively ‘exercising treaty rights’. This specifically means that the EEA national in question was in the UK as a worker, a student, or as a self-sufficient person, and during this period held comprehensive sickness insurance so as not to become a burden to the state. It is therefore required to evidence such lawful residence, the period between entering the UK and gaining status under UK immigration law, such as gaining status under the EU Settlement Scheme, for example. Such applicants will need to evidence lawful residency by exercising treaty rights for the 10 year period prior to making their application for British citizenship or since their date of entry to the UK, if this date is less than 10 years prior to their date of application for nationality.
The above requirements highlight the main and overarching requirements for those potentially applying for British nationality. Please note that there are further requirements to apply, such as evidencing the correct level of English language ability and having passed the Life in the UK test.
Those who are interested in pursuing an application for British citizenship and wish to understand their position better, please contact us
For those EU nationals who do not also hold British nationality and who have not yet applied for status under the EU Settlement Scheme, should you wish to remain in the UK lawfully, you must apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme by the deadline of 30 June 2021.
Gherson has extensive experience in all aspects of UK immigration law. please do not hesitate to contact us for further advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date.
The information in these blogs is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in these blogs. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2021