EU Settlement Scheme Pilot

On the 11th of October 2018 the Home Office published information on who is eligible to participate in the EU Settlement Scheme pilot which ran from the 1st of November 2018 to the 21st of December 2018. Information about who is eligible to take part in the EU Settlement Scheme pilot running from 1 November to 21 December 2018. Although the scheme is now closed, the Home Office states that application for the scheme will reopen on the 21st of January 2019 and would reopen fully by the 30th of March 2019. (UKVI, December (2018).
The Home Office provided a list for eligibility for the pilot, under the just concluded phase of the pilot, status would be granted under this scheme if the applicant is either: .
- "a resident EU citizen with a valid passport
- the non-EU citizen family member of an EU citizen and you have a biometric residence card
The applicant must also either be:
- working in the higher education, health or social care sectors, as set out below
- a child under the age of 18 being looked after by one of the local authorities involved in the pilot or eligible for support or assistance from one of those local authorities because you were looked after by them as a child
- receiving support from one of the community organisations involved in the pilot".
Source, UKVI (December 2018) assessed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-pilot-applicant-eligibility
Access to an android device is also necessary in order to use a Home Office app which enables the Home Office to confirm the identity of the applicant, which constitutes part of the application process. To apply, the applicant must meet the eligibility requirement outlined above. For family members to apply during the just concluded phase of the pilot they would have to be eligible through their employment with participating organisations or be supported by one of the participating community organisations.
Those who were able to apply for this scheme are outlined below:
"From 1 November 2018
You’ll be able to apply during the pilot if you’re employed by or work at one of the 15 NHS Trusts or 3 universities in north-west England involved in this phase of the pilot.
From 15 November 2018
You’ll also be able to apply if you’re:
- employed by or work at a higher education institution or overseas higher education institution in the UK which is classified as such on the Tier 4 Register of Licensed Sponsors
- a child under the age of 18 being looked after by one of the local authorities involved in the pilot, or you’re eligible for support or assistance from one of those local authorities because you were looked after by them as a child
- receiving support from one of the community organisations involved in the pilot"
From 3 December 2018
You’ll also be able to apply if you’re employed by or work at an organisation in the health or social care sector in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
Full details of the employers participating in this stage of the pilot in each part of the UK are available in the Immigration Rules . There are some differences which reflect devolved responsibility for health and social care.
You must make your application before 22 December 2018 if you wish to obtain status under the scheme during this pilot phase.
Otherwise you can apply later once the scheme opens publicly. The scheme will be fully open by 30 March 2019".
Source, UKVI (December 2018) assessed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/eu-settlement-scheme-pilot-applicant-eligibility
The home office writes that the pilot was only open to people who meet the eligibility rules which are set out above. This meant that applicants must be eligible as looked-after children (or previously looked after-children) of one of the local authorities who are involved in the pilot or be employed in the health or social care sectors, higher education, as outlined above or the applicant must be receiving support from participating community organisation. Nevertheless, an application under the scheme will not be rejected if an applicant made genuine errors as to whether or not they fell within the range of the pilot (Home Office, (December (2018) ).
Stephanie Heijdra is an Immigration lawyer working at Winvolved Consultancy Ltd. For your settlement matters, EU Law Matters, EU Residency, naturalisation and other Immigration matters, please contact us at www.winvolved.co.uk





