A total of 6,546,200 applications have been filed under the European Union Settlement Scheme until March 2022.
Such figures have been provided by the recent report published by the government of the United Kingdom, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The same source shows that from the total, 494,100 were received after June 30, 2021. In addition, the number of concluded applications as of June 30, 2021, was 827,200.
The recent quarterly statistics reveal that a total of 9 per cent of applications were from repeat applicants, or a total of 593,170.
“This indicates that an estimated 5.75 million people had applied to the scheme by the end of December 2021, of which 5.33 million were from EEA and Swiss nationals and approximately 407,400 from non-EEA nationals,” the statement published by the UK government notes.
The same reveals that 3,201,000, or 51 per cent of applications, were until March under the settled status. At the same time, a total of 2,576,400 applications were filed under the pre-settled status. The latter is granted to EU citizens that were living in the UK before the free movement ended on December 31, 2020.
Authorities in the UK announced that a total of 251,900 applications were refused until March or 4 per cent of the total.
Of the total number of requests filed until March, 119,000 applications, or a total of 2 per cent, were considered invalid.
The European Union Settlement Scheme permits citizens of the European Economic Area as well as Swiss citizens in the UK to acquire the immigration status, which allows them to continue to live in the UK legally post-Brexit.
However, a large number of Europeans with pre-settled status risk becoming illegal migrants.
A recent report of the Electronic Immigration Network (EIN) revealed that more than two million citizens of European countries who hold the pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) risk becoming illegal migrants if they cannot apply for a residency permit in Britain, or in case that authorities do not recognize their application.
A report Electronic Immigration Network (EIN) stressed that these nationals are facing difficulties in applying for their residency permit for several reasons.
“Over the past three years, the evidence has become clear that some people find it much harder to engage with the scheme, including victims of abuse, people with poor English skills, or those with health problems. Many of the same groups will struggle to secure permanent status, especially if there is less support available to them in the coming years,” Marina Fernandez Reino, Senior Researcher at the Migration Observatory, pointed out in this regard.
Since Britain is no longer part of the bloc, citizens of both territories are subject to different rules when planning to visit each other’s territory.
SOURCE: Schengen Visa Info
