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| Home Office prepares for rise in residency applications from EU migrants Home Office prepares for rise in residency applications from EU migrants | |
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| The Home Office is quietly trialling a fast-track online system to handle an expected surge in permanent residency applications from EU migrants in the UK concerned about their British immigration status in the run-up to Brexit. | The Home Office is quietly trialling a fast-track online system to handle an expected surge in permanent residency applications from EU migrants in the UK concerned about their British immigration status in the run-up to Brexit. |
| The Home Office has confirmed that it is testing the system, which simplifies the current process that includes completing, printing out and posting by special delivery an 85-page form, ahead of a public launch later this year. | The Home Office has confirmed that it is testing the system, which simplifies the current process that includes completing, printing out and posting by special delivery an 85-page form, ahead of a public launch later this year. |
| The 3.5 million EU nationals currently living in Britain do not need to apply for a £65 residence card to prove their right to live and work in Britain, and there are only about 25,500 applications a year mainly from non-EU spouses or children of an EU national in Britain. | The 3.5 million EU nationals currently living in Britain do not need to apply for a £65 residence card to prove their right to live and work in Britain, and there are only about 25,500 applications a year mainly from non-EU spouses or children of an EU national in Britain. |
| But the continuing uncertainty of the legal status of EU citizens in Britain after Brexit means that there is now likely to be a huge increase in demand for residence applications from those who anticipate restrictions being placed on their freedom of movement within Europe. | But the continuing uncertainty of the legal status of EU citizens in Britain after Brexit means that there is now likely to be a huge increase in demand for residence applications from those who anticipate restrictions being placed on their freedom of movement within Europe. |
| The Oxford University-based Migration Observatory has said that depending on the progress of the Brexit negotiations there may also be a need to quickly register all EU citizens already living in the UK. | The Oxford University-based Migration Observatory has said that depending on the progress of the Brexit negotiations there may also be a need to quickly register all EU citizens already living in the UK. |
| Migration Observatory’s director, Madeleine Sumption, has estimated that the complexities of the existing paper-based system means it could take 140 years to register all 3.5 million EU citizens in Britain at current rates of processing if they all apply. | Migration Observatory’s director, Madeleine Sumption, has estimated that the complexities of the existing paper-based system means it could take 140 years to register all 3.5 million EU citizens in Britain at current rates of processing if they all apply. |
| The Financial Times quotes one person helping to operate the two-week trial, who said the trial was also “part of a stocktaking exercise” to assess the numbers of EU nationals living and working in Britain. | The Financial Times quotes one person helping to operate the two-week trial, who said the trial was also “part of a stocktaking exercise” to assess the numbers of EU nationals living and working in Britain. |
| Jurga McClusky, head of immigration at law firm Deloitte, told the FT: “If we have EU workers with [secure residence] status there could be provisions within government policy to protect them in the long term, meaning that free movement laws will continue to influence UK immigration policy for a period of time post-Brexit.” | Jurga McClusky, head of immigration at law firm Deloitte, told the FT: “If we have EU workers with [secure residence] status there could be provisions within government policy to protect them in the long term, meaning that free movement laws will continue to influence UK immigration policy for a period of time post-Brexit.” |
| McClusky added that questions, however, may arise over the status of EU nationals who were not able to register and had difficulty proving their residency in Britain before a cut-off date because they were, for example, students or self-employed. | McClusky added that questions, however, may arise over the status of EU nationals who were not able to register and had difficulty proving their residency in Britain before a cut-off date because they were, for example, students or self-employed. |
| A government spokesman said: “As part of the ongoing Home Office programme to digitise applications, we have launched a number of online options. We are currently testing an online service which simplifies the process by allowing some EEA nationals to submit electronic applications.” | A government spokesman said: “As part of the ongoing Home Office programme to digitise applications, we have launched a number of online options. We are currently testing an online service which simplifies the process by allowing some EEA nationals to submit electronic applications.” |
| The move was disclosed as the Polish deputy prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said during a visit to London that he expected many Poles to return to Poland after Britain leaves the EU. | The move was disclosed as the Polish deputy prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said during a visit to London that he expected many Poles to return to Poland after Britain leaves the EU. |
| “I believe there will be many people coming back – a couple of hundreds of thousands may come back over the next five years,” he told the BBC, adding that the killing of Arkadiusz Jóźwik in Harlow on Saturday would “pose a question mark for many families in Great Britain.”. | “I believe there will be many people coming back – a couple of hundreds of thousands may come back over the next five years,” he told the BBC, adding that the killing of Arkadiusz Jóźwik in Harlow on Saturday would “pose a question mark for many families in Great Britain.”. |