UK Settlement Scheme News

Different interpretations? Elastic and tolerant term will be for the vulnerable

With reasonable excuse there will be no time limit to apply

The government must speed up legislation that it believes will prevent vulnerable EU citizens from becoming victims of Windrush type Brexit, he said.

According to the new secondary legislation, vulnerable citizens who already live legally in the country, such as children under guardianship and homeless, can apply for regularisation status years after the 30 June 2021 deadline.

All they need to do is prove that they have a "reasonable excuse" not to do so, Interior Minister Kevin Foster said. He also said there would be no time limit on his future applications.

Foster told the committee that the government would "take a generous approach to what are reasonable grounds," adding that the Home Office would publish guidelines, which would be "illustrative, not exhaustive guidelines," to allow each individual's case to be assessed on its merits.

He gave the example of a child in an orphanage, who may not discover that his application was not made until he became an adult, as someone who could apply in 10 years for settlement status.

Alberto Costa

The change is seen as a victory for Alberto Costa, the conservative backbencher of Italian heritage who has been working behind the scenes to persuade the government to safeguard the rights of vulnerable EU and EEA citizens for the past two years.