On the 31st of December 2020, freedom of movement in the UK for EU citizens ended, with the UK entering a national lockdown just days later. Travel restrictions have meant that fewer people should have used the system in the first quarter of 2021. Unsurprisingly, the number of EU citizens applying for UK visas was relatively small.
How much demand for the new immigration system is there from EU citizens?
In Q1 2021 (1st January to 31st March), 1,075 applications for long-term skilled work visas were made from EU Citizens, including the health and care visa. They made up just 5% of the total applications.
Some EU citizens who may otherwise have applied for these visas are eligible for a ‘frontier worker permit’. These allow workers who have done paid work in the UK before under free movement but don’t live in the country, to return for the same purpose. This was the biggest category of visa applications from EU citizens. The importance of this category will diminish over time, as more people come to work in the UK for short periods.
There were 5,354 entry visa applications in total from EU citizens (this includes 70 people who applied for visitor visas), the vast majority of which were for work purposes (4,568). EU citizens made up one in ten of all work applications, including the frontier worker permits.
Immigration Solicitors Oldham, Rochdale and Manchester
If you have any questions about the issues raised in this article and need the help of Manchester Immigration solicitors, Rochdale immigration solicitors or Oldham immigration solicitors then contact Scarsdale Solicitors Oldham, Scarsdale Solicitors Manchester or Scarsdale Solicitors Rochdale on 0161 660 6050 for further advice.
