According to the figures, the number of EU citizens is higher than thought, but an exact number is not known. When the EU Settlement Scheme opened it was thought there were up to four million EU nationals in the UK (Irish Nationals are not included in this figure). However, there have been more than five million applications already.
- Settled status (similar to indefinite leave to remain) has now been granted to 2.75 million people.
- Pre-settled status has been issued to 2.28 million people.
It is now estimated that there could be up to two million more EU citizens in the UK than predicted.
The deadline for British citizens extended in France
British citizens in France have had the deadline to apply for settled status extended to September 30th 2021 rather than the original deadline of June 30th. High demand and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted waiting times. Calls to extend the deadline for UK-based EU citizens were ignored. The Home Office has stated that late claims are to be accepted if there is a reasonable cause.
Concerns about vulnerable EU citizens in the UK
Fears have been expressed that vulnerable people from the UE may be at increased risk of human trafficking or modern-day slavery. A recent study showed that there may be up to 100,000 modern slaves in Britain.
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