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Help us make sure that older people don’t miss out on the EU Settlement Scheme! - Leeds Older People’s Forum
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January 20, 2021

Help us make sure that older people don’t miss out on the EU Settlement Scheme!

Can you support Leeds efforts to get more older people applying to the EU Settlement Scheme?

At present, those aged over-65 make up a small proportion of EU citizens in the city registering to live in the UK after 30 June 2021 (the deadline for EU settlement scheme applications).

With some exemptions* and other considerations** (see below), it’s important that many of the older EU, EEA*** and Swiss citizens living in Leeds know about the settlement scheme: a successful application protects the rights of participants in terms of access to healthcare, benefits and pensions.

Individuals and interested parties are asked to check detailed guidance of the EU settlement scheme, and how to make an application, on the government website.

Some of you reading this blog may be involved in a neighbourhood network, community group or employer and want to help. Toolkits aimed at supporting community groups and employers have been published by the government. These toolkits include guidance offering help in terms of eligibility, process and other considerations.

Leeds-based support, meanwhile, will resume its free ID checking and help services once Covid-19 social distancing requirements allow. The service is closed temporarily due to the current national lockdown.

The deadline for EU settlement scheme applications is 30 June 2021.

Statistics are published quarterly by the government. These are the latest figures at the time of writing.

Settlement scheme team,
Leeds City Council

* There are exemptions to the settlement scheme, meaning some older EU citizens need not make an application. Exemptions include:

  • An EU national who arrived before December 1988, and already has indefinite leave to remain, does not have to apply.
  • A person with dual citizenship (British and another EU nationality) also does not have to apply.

** Other considerations include:

  • Applicants must have been resident in the UK by 31 December 2020.
  • Non-EU family members of an EU national can apply to continue living in the UK.
  • An EU national with a permanent residency card – the blue document – still has to apply to the EU settlement scheme.

*** The EEA includes Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as EU countries.