EU citizens to be given "settled status" after Brexit

Friday 22 June 2018

EU citizens living and working in Jersey will have to apply for "settled status" from the end of the year allowing them to stay on the island after Brexit - but the amount that will cost them remains unclear.

The move follows an announcement made by UK Immigration Secretary Caroline Nokes yesterday, in which she produced a Statement of Intent for the UK’s EU Settlement Scheme.

In the UK, applications are set to cost £65 for adults and £32.50 for children. Meanwhile, they'll be free for those who have already acquired residency or have indefinite permission to remain.

Jersey has now produced an aligned scheme, known as the ‘Jersey EU Settlement Scheme'. Their costs, however, are yet to be finalised. A spokesperson from the Department for External Relations told Express that the States were "still assessing the cost options... to identify the option that will be most appropriate for the island."

"We hope to have a decision on this issue made as soon as possible - so that EU citizens have clarity both on the process and costs before they begin to submit applications at the end of the year," they said.

Under the scheme, all EU citizens or family members of an EU citizen living in Jersey will need to apply via a mobile app to obtain 'settled status' or 'pre-settled' status, regardless of how long they have lived in Jersey. This will prove that they have permission to continue living and working in Jersey in future. 

Applicants will have to provide an identity document, which can either be a passport or National Identity Document, a recent photograph, and a declaration of any criminal convictions to the Jersey Customs and Immigration Service.

Under the Jersey EU Settlement Scheme:

• Settled status will be granted to successful applicants who have been continuously living in Jersey for a total of five years or more by 31 December 2020. They will also be able to apply for British nationality.

• Pre-settled status will be granted to those who fulfil all the requirements but have been living in Jersey for less than five years. After they have completed five years residence, they will be able tp apply for settled status.

• Family members who are living with, or join, EU citizens in Jersey by 31 December 2020 will also be able to apply for settled status, after five years in the Island.

• Close family members (spouses, civil and unmarried partners, dependent children and grandchildren, and dependent parents and grandparents) will be able to join EU citizens in the island (where the family relationship existed on 31 December 2020).

The updated status will not affect residential and housing rights.

Minister for External Relations Senator Ian Gorst, who is responsible for Jersey’s Brexit preparations, said: “The Government continue to recognise the important contribution made by EU nationals to Island life. We can assure those EU citizens living here that they will be able to apply to remain in the Island by taking advantage of the Jersey EU Settlement Scheme.” 

Pictured: Deputy Gregory Guida, the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs.

Deputy Gregory Guida, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, added: “The scheme that we are proposing will reflect that offered by the UK, allowing EU citizens who have lived in Jersey continuously for five years to apply for settled status. Those who have not yet lived in the Island for five years will also be able to apply, for ‘pre-settled’ status, gaining settled status when the full five years have elapsed.

“We are also working closely with the UK government to finalise the approach to time spent in Jersey in respect of eligibility for settled status in the UK and vice versa.”

The process for applying will open at the end of the year and will remain open until 30 June 2021. EU citizens who arrived in Jersey before Brexit day, 29 March 2019,  will have until 30 June 2021. Those who arrive in the island afterwards will have to apply if they choose to stay in Jersey longer than three months.