EU Settlement Scheme update
10 December 2018
The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has set out information for EU citizens and their family members in the UK in the event of a no deal exit from the EU.
Although there is no legal obligation for employers to communicate the EU Settlement Scheme to their employees, you may wish to signpost the information that the Government is providing.
The UK Government confirms that:
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If there is no deal, the EU Settlement Scheme will continue to be implemented, enabling EU citizens and their family members living in the UK by 29 March 2019 to secure their status and continue to be able to work, study, and access benefits and services in the UK on the same basis after we exit the EU as they do now. The scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019 as planned
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The Home Office will continue to look to grant status rather than refuse and in line with the UK commitment to be more generous in certain respects than the draft Withdrawal Agreement, a person will not be refused status under the EU Settlement Scheme because, for example, they are not economically active or they do not hold comprehensive sickness insurance
There would be some changes to the EU Settlement Scheme if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and further details are set out in the policy document. In particular, as there will be no agreed implementation period, the application deadline will be brought forward to 31 December 2020.
No action needs to be taken for now. The EU Settlement Scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019.
Further information about the scheme can be found on GOV.UK - Settled and pre-settled status for EU citizens and their families.