New registration procedure proposed for EU citizens in the UK

Following the joint report published by EU and UK negotiators on December 8, the Minister of State for Immigration Brandon Lewis has set out the provisions by which EU nationals who are resident in the UK who wish to apply for "settled status" must fulfill. Settled status gives an individual the indefinite right to live in Britain and, in order to be eligible, a person must prove that they have been continuously resident in the country for a minimum of five years and pass a criminal record test.

From the second half of 2018, persons must apply via an online application process which has been  greatly simplified. The new form will have between 6 to 8 questions as opposed to the current 85-page long questionnaire. There are two main grounds for refusal:

• If a person has a criminal record
• If a person fraudulently claims to be an EU citizen. 

The cost of the application will be £72 - no more than the cost of a passport. This stipulation was included in the Brexit deal which also provides that any EU national who has already successfully applied for UK permanent residence documents will not also be charged a further fee when they convert to settled status.

A decision on an application will be given within two weeks of it being submitted online. Applicants will have the right to appeal the decision in the UK with a final decision to be made by the court in the UK. UK courts will however be required to follow EU case law until the final terms of Brexit have been decided, and the views and decisions of the European Court of Justice on citizens' rights will remain highly persuasive for a period of up to eight years thereafter.

More comprehensive details of the settled status application will be published in the next few months.