More than 300,000 applications for the EU settlement scheme are waiting to be processed just weeks before the deadline for entries.
EU citizens and their families are asked to apply to the Home Office scheme by the end of June, in order to continue living and working in the UK now the Brexit transition period and freedom of movement has ended.
According to provisional Home Office figures to the end of May, 5.6 million (5,605,800) applications have been received since the scheme opened in March 2019 and 5.2million (5,271,300) have been finalised.
This leaves around 334,500 applications which were yet to be processed at the end of last month, the figures suggest.
The Home Office said it usually takes around five working days for complete applications to be processed, but it can take longer than a month if more information is needed.
The department has not committed to completing all applications before the deadline as, for example, submissions could be made up until minutes before.
Those who apply before the deadline, but have not received a decision by then, “will have their rights protected until their application is decided”, the department said.
From PA News
