The government have announced a trial of the post-Brexit registration process in three Liverpool universities and 12 NHS trusts in the north-west. The trial will begin at the end of August and will allow EU nationals, family members of EU nationals and family members of a qualifying British citizen to apply for indefinite leave to remain or limited leave to remain.
Under these proposed regulations, all EU nationals and EU family members will be required to hold valid status in the UK. This status is defined under Appendix EU.
The proposed rules, if rolled out, would mean that an EU national (or the family members of an EU national) who has resided in the UK for 5 years or more, would under most circumstances be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain if they apply. Interestingly, there is no mention of students or self-sufficient individuals being required to have private health insurance, a clause that has stopped many individuals being eligible for Permanent Residence under the current rules. This does not mean that the health insurance clause has been abandoned, as this is only a trial. Furthermore, individuals who currently hold Permanent Residency in the UK, will still be required to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
If an individual has not resided in the UK for five years at the time that Brexit comes into effect, in order to legally remain in the UK, the individual must apply for limited leave to remain. The individual should be granted 5 years limited leave to remain. If the individual then goes on to reside in the UK for 5 years, they may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain.
The pilot scheme should allow the Home Office to highlight and address any problems before the scheme goes live at the end of 2018. The immigration minister, Caroline Nokes stated that the scheme will make it easier for EU nationals to get the status that they require.
The information in this blog 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 this blog. 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.
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