On 6 August 2021, the UK Home Office has announced that the UK government will protect the rights of late applications until their EU Settlement Scheme application has been decided and any appeal rights have been exhausted.
This will also extend to joining family members, who will be afforded temporary protection for 3 months after their arrival in the UK and pending the outcome of an EU Settlement Scheme application made during that period (including any appeal).
Under such protection, late applications and joining family members have been assured that they will be able to take up new employment in the UK, rent property, receive access to benefits and the NHS whilst they await the outcome of their applications.
The legal framework for this protection can be found in Article 18 of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement, which states:
(1) ….
(d) where the deadline for submitting the application…. is not respected by the persons concerned, the competent authorities shall assess all the circumstances and reasons for not respecting the deadline and shall allow those persons to submit an application within a reasonable further period of time if there are reasonable grounds for the failure to respect the deadline…
(3) Pending a final decision by the competent authorities on any application referred to in paragraph 1, and pending a final judgment handed down in case of judicial redress sought against any rejection of such application by the competent administrative authorities, all rights provided for in this Part shall be deemed to apply to the applicant…
Gherson’s expertise in immigration-based claims and range of services that cover the full spectrum of UK immigration categories can help EU nationals with late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme. please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.
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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