Almost 700,000 granted leave to remain in UK after Brexit - home office

By Jemma Crew, Press Association

Almost 700,000 people have been granted leave to remain in the UK after Brexit, the Home Office said.

Some 166,900 people applied to the Government's EU settlement scheme in May to secure their post-Brexit status, statistics released on Thursday show.

As of May 31, the total number of applications since the scheme was opened was 788,200, with 668,000 applications concluded, according to the Home Office release.

Of these, 66% were granted settled status and 34% were granted pre-settled status.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid told Parliament on June 10 that the number had risen to more than 800,000, and that almost 700,000 people had been successful.

It is the second time the monthly stats have been released since the scheme opened to the public on March 30.

Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes said: "The EU Settlement Scheme is making really good progress and more than 800,000 people have already applied, with almost 700,000 granted status.

"The scheme is simple and free and EU citizens have until at least December 31 2020 to apply so we are well on track to deliver on our promise to protect the rights of EU citizens."

Overall, the majority of applications were made in England (726,700), with 33,600 from Scotland, 17,600 from Wales and 9,000 from Northern Ireland.

The Home Office figures show that Poles continue to apply more than any other nationality, with 132,400 Polish applications.

There were 110,900 Romanian and 91,400 Italian applications.

As well as EU nationals, the scheme is open to citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are in the European Economic Area (EEA) but not EU member states, as well as those from Switzerland.

Non-EEA family members can also apply, and as of May 31 there had been around 33,400 applications.

Successful applicants are granted immigration status confirming their right to continue living and working in the UK indefinitely.

People who have lived continuously in the country for five years can obtain settled status.

Those with less than five years' residence can acquire pre-settled status, which can later be converted into settled status.

Following three trial phases, the scheme went fully live at the end of March.