Hi I'm Tom Bradford, and in this video I'm going to show you how to apply for
settled status and what you need to bear in mind if there's going to be a No Deal
just to answer the question in the title essentially if there is a no deal Brexit
you do need to apply for settled status you need to apply either way but
in the case of a No Deal brexit which seems increasingly likely with Boris
Johnson now in office there are some particular points you need to bear in
mind. Before we get into the details, I'm Tom Bradford & I'm a lawyer and on this
channel I show you how to reach abroad to access other jurisdictions and in
this case how to stay if you're an EU national living in the UK. I've
helped a number of clients with regularising their status and and the
settled status application is actually subject of a separate video where I walk
you through exactly how to apply. You can get that on on my channel and it's
in the playlist below. Now what you particularly need to bear in mind with a
No Deal is this and I've basically set it out in this diagram you can see. I've
got the 'deal scenario' and dates up at the top and I've got the 'no deal
scenario' at the bottom so I can show you the differences it's not without
complexity I must say and I completely understand why certain people can be
confused I certainly receive a lot of inquiries about these topics. So
let's just go over the overview if there is a deal. So what the
government says is that if you're an EU EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your
family can apply to the EU settlement scheme to continue living in the UK
after 31st of June. Now there's a a tacit threat in that I don't that
if you don't apply then you can't stay.
the implication is that if you don't make an application then the government's position is that
they'll take a tolerant and proportionate as they put it approach to
your non-compliance but nevertheless you will be in the country
without permission after that date you would need to need to apply.
As for when you can apply, the EU settlement scheme is open has been for
some time and I think I made the first or one of the first tutorials on it
exactly how to apply using the app so that was that's the video that you can
check out on this channel. It says the deadline for applying is the 30th of
June 2021 so the deadline for No Deal is is going to be different
I'll come to that in a minute. Which status you get depends on when you apply.
so essentially if you've been here for less than five years (a resident in the
UK for less than five years ) then you would apply for 'pre-settled status'. If
you have been a resident for more than five years under your belt and you can prove it, then it would
be settled status. Now it says the deadline for applying is 30th of June
2021, but if the UK leaves the EU without a deal you will
need to be living in the UK before it leaves the EU to apply and the deadline
for applying will be the 31st of December 2020. So let's just zoom out a
bit, so here's the deal scenario so
we got brexit day likely 31st of October 2019 as it appears so far unless
parliament finds some way to to block it but certainly the government is clear that
the UK will leave the EU no later than that date so you will not have to have
been living in the UK before that date but you'll need to have been living in
the UK by the 31st of December so you can see that by this
illustration. So before 2021, you've got to have been living in the UK
in order to be able to apply and I've put here the deadline is the 30th
June 2021, that's the deadline for applying for settled or pre-settled
status. So there'll be a bit of a gap here between you know first of January
2021 and and effectively first of July 2021
but the latter will be the deadline. Now the position is different
for a No Deal,
If there's a no deal, you
will need to have been living in the UK before brexit day. so
you must have been living in the UK before brexit day (before the 31st of
October 2019) and in fact for a couple of clients I've assisted them when
the deadline was originally on the 29th of March for brexit.
I did help
clients to set up in the UK very quickly and get the requisite evidence of their
residents like a matter of weeks before the deadline so I think your view on
the political situation is maybe no better than mine but whether it's better
or worse, you need to be thinking now about residence planning if
you're looking at setting up in the UK if you're an EU national and you're
looking to stay in the UK on a permanent basis. You need to be working towards the
31st of October as the date when you actually need to be resident in the UK
in order to be able to apply for settled or pre-settled status. Now I'll come to
the alternative applications that you can make if you missed that
deadline for residency. so what the government has
said about this: so it says resident EU citizens as has
previously been made clear in the event of a no deal, EU citizens & their family
members already resident in the UK by the 31st of October 2019 will be welcome
to stay and it's those who aren't resident by that day may not be
welcome to stay. It would depend on whether they get
permission to be or not and they say we want them to do so, they are part of our
community. So this mirrors the rhetoric of Theresa
May a few months back. If there is no deal, they will have until the 31st of
December 2020 to apply to the EU settlement scheme to protect their
status. so 31st of December 2020. So if we go to
compare these deadlines.
that deadline here is basically the same deadline that you would have in the
event of a deal for residents but it's earlier than the 30th of June
2021 deadline for applying for settled status IF there is a deal.
basically the deadline will be six months earlier. so you need to basically
be here, living here by brexit day and then there'll
be a transitional period. I know there's some language confusion between
the implementation period which references the ideal scenario but there
is what the government is called in governance guidance document on 'a No
Deal transition period' even in the event of a 'No deal' and you'll need to
apply if you're an EU citizen for settled status by the 31st of December
2020 settle status or pre-settled status now after that date. There'll be a new
skills based immigration system so people arriving who are living in the UK
post Brexit day will be subject to an interim system (I'll come to that in a
minute) but then in the fullness of time from 2021, they'll be subject to a
new skills based system and the government is still in consulting about
that now. As for the position in the interim, if
you start living in the UK after brexit day so after October 2019,
you'll be able to come with visa-free access. It's envisaged for
three months and stay for three months but after that you'll need to
make an application and that'll be using basically the same app that
has been used for pre-settled status and settled status. You'll need to make an
application for up to 36 months, a temporary leave to remain. So you stay
here for three months automatically but then you need to apply for permission
after that and that's granted for 36 months. Now that 36 months so three years
would then take you into the period when there'll be a new skills based
immigration system so that could take you for example
up to about 2023 and then you'd make a new application if you wanted to to stay
from that date but before we deal with the future,
let's just deal with the the interim position after brexit. So this is what
the government says EU citizens who wish to stay longer than three months will
need to apply to the Home Office for 'leave to remain' within three months of
arrival. Subject to identity, criminality and security checks 'leave to
remain' will be granted for 36 months which will include permission to work
and study. This will be non-extendable temporary leave so those who wish to
stay longer term will need to apply in due course under the future arrangements.
Now that's really important, it's not extendable so you're
going to be a bit in the dark really. You'll have those three years but you
won't know what the future system will be until some months into the future
probably at some point next year but it may take even longer and so again
there's a benefit to just being resident here before Brexit day in
a 'no deal scenario'
and there may be some who do not qualify under the new arrangement and who will
need to leave the UK when their leave expires. so that's my point really,
you will not know if you're living in the UK post Brexit day and you get
temporary leave to remain after the three months for 36 months, you will not
know whether you'll be able to extend that so there'll be uncomfortable
position of uncertainty I think because there'll be no legal certainty & because
the new immigration system won't have come into effect.
So as for the
details of the future skills based immigration system, it'll take some time to
implement a new system. It's important there's sufficient time and temporary
transitional arrangements will apply from the 31st of October 2019,
to provide some continuity for EU citizens and businesses in the UK. The
transition period will be in place until 31st of December at 2020 so as for the
differences between a 'deal' and 'no deal' for you as an EU citizen if you're
looking at applying for settled status is that:
in 'a deal', you'd only need to be living in the UK by the 31st of December 2020
and you'd have a deadline of the 30th of June 2021 to apply so you can get an
additional time but if there is a 'no deal' you need to be living in
the UK before brexit Day and then you'll be in this transitional period during
which you'll need to apply if you're staying & apply for leave. If you're
staying for more than three months you can get 36 months temporary leave to remain.
But you won't know whether or not you will be qualifying after that, under the
new skills based immigration system. So, I think that covers it all, I
hope this was helpful. Do leave any questions in the comments below or
observations. If you do want to apply for settled or pre-settled
status, just check out the the video that I made. It walks you through exactly
how to apply. I'll try and link it here put an icon just over here and also I
will put it in the description below and that takes you through step by step how
to use the app and apply and get either settled or pre-settled status. Thanks
very much and I will see you in the next video.