Thursday, December 19, 2019

New figures show 2.3 million EU citizens without Settled Status

The Liberal Democrats have warned that the Conservatives are failing to guarantee the rights of all 3.6 million EU citizens in the UK, as new official figures show just over a third EU citizens have been given Settled Status by the end of November.
 
The latest EU Settlement Scheme Statistics, published on Tuesday by the Home Office, show more than 140,000 EU citizens applied to live and work in the UK after Brexit in November compared to more than half a million submitted in October.
 
The Liberal Democrats have also raised concerns over the number of applicants receiving neither Settled or Pre-Settled Status. Today’s figures show 361,900 people are still waiting for a decision, with 2,592,800 applications received but only 2,230,900 concluded.
 
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said:
 
“Too many EU nationals are deeply anxious about their right to stay. Many of them fill vital roles in our health service and our schools. It’s disgraceful for the Conservative government to leave them in legal limbo like this.
 
“Boris Johnson continues to break his promise to automatically guarantee the rights of EU citizens in law. Thousands of EU citizens are set to miss out on Settled Status and be left vulnerable to the Tories’ Hostile Environment.
 
“The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for EU citizens by opposing Brexit. We will fight to guarantee their rights to live and work in the UK.”

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