The UK government has sought to reassure the EU that its citizens living in the UK will not be deported if they fail to apply for settled status, the European parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator has said.
Speaking after a meeting with the Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, on Thursday night, Guy Verhofstadt said he had raised a number of concerns regarding the status of EU citizens in the UK after it leaves the bloc.
He said he had been told there would be no automatic deportation of people, after the existing grace period, if they failed to apply for settled status. “I wanted to be sure that there would be no automatic deportation for people after that period because it can be people who are very vulnerable,” he said.
“The idea would be that even these people, after the grace period, they will have the possibility to apply giving the grounds for why it was not possible [to apply for settled status] within the normal procedures.”
The application process for EU citizens to obtain settled status opened at the end of March 2019. It will close, following the six-month grace period, on 30 June 2021.
Will Brexit happen?
Recently Prime Minster Boris Johnson admitted that he has doubts about the deal going underway by the his self-proclaimed deadline of Dec 2020. What do you think, will the brexit actually happen this time or will it be extended for another year? Let us know in the comments.