The United Kingdom has approved nearly 400,000 residence permits that the Portuguese have applied for under the post-Brexit process, according to statistics published today, but the true number of individuals is uncertain.
According to the UK Home Office, as of December 31, 436,650 applications were submitted by Portuguese nationals.
Of the 419,910 applications processed, 236,580 were granted permanent status, and 158,370 were provisional, but 24,850 were denied, voided, or invalidated.
Permanent status (“settled status”) is granted after five years of continuous residence in the country, but those who have been there for a shorter period of time receive temporary status (“pre-settled status”) until they have completed the necessary time.
The report also notes a repeat of 43,710 Portuguese requests, either for permission or to move from temporary to permanent status.
Of the Portuguese duplicate requests, 2,510 were rejected and 390 were awaiting responses.
Academic researcher Koba Jablonovsky said it is difficult to understand the true number of people in the EU citizen registration system. [EU Settlement Scheme, EUSS] Because of the way the process is done.
He said, “Since the Ministry of Interior does not assign a unique identifier to candidates, the analysis of candidate numbers must be based on probabilistic methods and navigate through various registered laws. The system is getting more and more complicated,” he said. Lusa Agency.
Jablonovsky, who works on the EUSS project for the University of Exeter, said he raised the problem in October 2019, and that “it could have been fixed.” [porque] There were a few recurring applications in the system, but it’s too late now.”
Another problem is that “nobody keeps track of how many people have EUSS status and are still in the UK”, as many will leave the country in the meantime.
EUSS was opened in 2019 after the United Kingdom left the European Union to guarantee residency status to citizens of the European Union, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein and their close family members from third countries.
In total, the UK Home Office has so far received nearly 6.4 million applications, of which there were 333,200 after the June 30 deadline, with 328,000 incomplete.
The UK government continues to accept applications as long as there are “reasonable reasons” for the delay, and promises a “workable and flexible” approach.
Without proof of status or certificate of application, European immigrants or their family members lose their rights to live, work and access health, educational and social support services in the UK.
