- Six million EU residents have applied for permanent residence in Britain
- The British government had set a June 30 deadline for those seeking permanent residence in the UK
- After leaving the EU in 2020, Britain developed a new immigration system to allow EU citizens who had lived in Britain before Dec. 31, 2020 to retain the right to work, study and access benefits
LONDON, England: Six million EU residents have applied for permanent residence in Britain.
The British government had set a June 30 deadline for those seeking permanent residence in the UK. Just in June, more than 400,000 EU residents applied to participate in the program.
After leaving the EU in 2020, Britain developed a new immigration system to allow EU citizens who had lived in Britain before Dec. 31, 2020, to retain the right to work, study and access benefits.
Officials report that 6.02 million applications had been received by June 30. Of these, Britain has accepted 5.45 million for permanent residency.
“I am delighted that we have secured the rights of so many EU citizens – our friends, neighbours and family members,” interior minister Priti Patel said, as quoted by Reuters.
The government had made it a priority to promote the campaign and encouraged qualified EU residents to apply by June 30.
EU residents in Britain will receive a formal 28-day notice if they fail to apply for settled status. Following that time, they will no longer be eligible for work or benefits and will lose the right to other services, including non-urgent healthcare.
However, the government will not seek to remove EU citizens following the 28-day period, said officials.
