The deadline for EU Settlement Scheme applications has passed on 30th June 2021. Since the start of the Scheme in August 2018 (this includes initial pilot period, as the Scheme was widely opened to everyone in March 2019) until the end of the application period, there were over 6 million application submitted in the UK. This was significantly higher number from initially estimated 3 million (hence the name of the organisation the3million). In late September, the Home Office published more detailed, quarterly statistics and so we decided to have a closer look on the figures for Scotland and Scottish local authorities.

From 1st July 2021 UK employers face changes in right to work checks for EEA nationals. Until 30th June 2021, EEA nationals could prove their right to work by presenting a valid ID document but now, new employees must provide proof that they have been granted (or at least applied for) status under the EU Settlement Scheme. Without a valid confirmation of the right to work, employers cannot sign new staff. If they do, they can face a penalty up to £20,000 for employing undocumented workers. 

Those who are eligible to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme can still apply for settled or pre-settled status even after the deadline of 30th June 2021. Late applications, however, are discretionary. This means that applicants must explain and prove why they were unable to apply before the deadline. The Home Office caseworker will then assess if the applicant falls under one of the categories of reasonable grounds to make a late application, and decide whether to accept this application or not. 

Il 6 maggio 2021 in Scozia si terranno le elezioni per il Parlamento scozzese.Il Parlamento scozzese è composto da tutti i membri eletti del Parlamento scozzese (MSP) ed è l'organo legislativo nelle materie devolute alla competenza della Scozia. La scadenza per registrarsi per votare è il 19 aprile 2021.
Il termine di registrazione per il voto postale è il 6 aprile 2021.

On 25 February 2021, The Home Office published the latest quarterly information on applications received and cases concluded to the EUSS for local authorities and regions from 28 August 2018 to 31 December 2020. We have decided to have a closer look at the figures for local authorities in Scotland and nationalities that submitted the most applications in each of those local authorities.

We have launched an appeal to raise funds to assist the most vulnerable clients with the costs of their travel, paying for new ID documents, or even taking a passport photo. There are only few hardship funds available in Scotland and our clients are often not eligible to apply for either of them and rely on private discretionary donations.

The Citizens’ Rights Project is expanding its services for European citizens by providing a multilingual rights service, in Spanish and Polish, for EU citizens in Edinburgh during the pandemic.

If you are an EU/EEA/Swiss national, or their family member, living in the UK and have concerns about how the rules on criminality issues affect you, we advise to read this article, seek professional help and apply as soon as possible for pre-settled or settled status.

My name is Helen. I am a linguist, and in my leisure time, I volunteer as an OISC registered EUSS advisor for the Citizens’ Rights Project. I support  fellow EU citizens who live in the Central Belt and Trossachs to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.

I am aware, from discussions on the internet and questions at meetings, that some EU citizens have wondered whether they could travel to the UK before the end of 2020 and stay in the UK temporarily, perhaps for a very short period, with the idea of acquiring status under the Settlement Scheme as a type of ‘insurance policy’. The intention is not to live in the UK at that stage, but to be able to use that status to secure a right to reside in the UK at some future date if they wished or needed to do so.

The Citizens Rights Project has organised a further free webinar about the EU Settlement Scheme aimed at professionals working with vulnerable EU citizens in local authorities and third sector organisations, in collaboration with their partner Drummond Miller LLP.

At the end of August, the Home Office has published new quarterly statistics of the EU Settlement Scheme. We had a closer look at these statistics wondering what nationalities have submitted the most EUSS applications in Scotland and which local authorities have the largest number of applications. Then, we looked at the top 10 of these local authorities and checked which nationalities submitted the most applications in each of them.