European citizens living in the United Kingdom are worried and "very much in the dark" as the deadline to secure their post-Brexit residency status in the country is only three weeks away, Maike Bohn, co-founder of the3million advocacy group said on Monday
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2021) European citizens living in the United Kingdom are worried and "very much in the dark" as the deadline to secure their post-Brexit residency status in the country is only three weeks away, Maike Bohn, co-founder of the3million advocacy group said on Monday.
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement signed between the UK and the European Union, EU citizens already living in the UK and vice versa have until July 1 to apply for permanent residence, otherwise they will lose their rights to work, rent a home or receive health care.
Less than four weeks to the deadline, Bohn told London-based foreign correspondents via an online press conference that people are worried and "apprehensive."
"We see real lack of engagement (from the Home Office), and we see real worries by people who have realized now that mobility has come to an end," she stressed.
Luke Piper, head of group policy at the3million, explained that from July 1, European residents will have to prove that they have legal bases to be in the UK, and that thousands of them will be unable to do it either because they missed the deadline or have their applications pending.
According to the most recent Home Office statistics, up to April 30, around 5.4 million EU nationals had applied for residence in the UK under the post Brexit settlement scheme. So far, 97% of the applicants were offered settled or pre-settled status, only 1% was refused and the remaining 2% were either withdrawn or invalid.
