Get The Visibility Your Company Needs
Reduce compliance risks and mobility costs while managing individual and project-related travel with ImmiSMART: the solution that unifies your travel and mobility programs.
UNITED KINGDOM: Public Testing of EU Settlement Scheme to Open in January
December 20, 2018
On 20 December, the Home Office laid another Statement of Changes to the immigration rules before Parliament, enabling “resident EU citizens (and their EU citizen family members) with a valid passport” and “their non-EU citizen family members holding a valid biometric residence card” to apply for settled or pre-settled status through the EU Settlement Scheme, from 21 January 2019.
EU citizens with a national ID card instead of a passport will therefore not be able to participate in this next phase of testing.
The Home Office announced that this public test of the new system follows a “successful” private beta and that it is still on track to fully open the scheme by 30 March 2019.
EEA/EFTA/Swiss Citizens
Separately, on 20 December 2018 the Department for Exiting the European Union published agreed texts of a separation agreement with the EEA EFTA states (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and a Swiss citizens’ rights agreement, allowing citizens of these countries to access the EU Settlement Scheme.
Our Advice
Employers who may be affected are encouraged to contact their Newland Chase immigration specialist for specific advice.
For general advice and information on immigration and business travel to the UK, please email us at [email protected]
