The Diplomat
More than 320,000 Spaniards have signed up for the Settlement Scheme, the registration system set up by the British government to facilitate residency for citizens of European Union countries who were in the country at the time of Brexit and which will end tomorrow after more than two years of operation.
“If for whatever reason you have not been able to register, you are still in time,” said the British ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, in a final appeal to encourage those who have not signed up. “A free five-minute cell phone run will be enough to protect your rights as a UK resident,” he continued. “Do like Edu and join the thousands of Spaniards who already have their status confirmed,” he added, referring to a Spaniard who has signed up to the register after five years of residence in London.
In March 2019, the UK enabled a free settlement program, the Settlement Scheme, to facilitate the registration of all EU and European Economic Area citizens who had arrived in the UK before December 31, 2020, the date scheduled (and finally met) for the British exit from the Union. Once they have received the status, European citizens will be able to continue to enjoy their rights, such as working, having access to public healthcare, the education system and receiving public benefits.
In these more than two years, as reported yesterday by the British Embassy in Madrid, more than 5.6 million EU citizens living in the UK as of December 31, 2020 have registered to confirm their residence in the country. These include more than 320,000 Spaniards, a number that is almost double the 180,000 Spaniards estimated to be in the UK at the time of Brexit.
Approximately 43 percent of Spaniards have been granted settled status (intended for those who have been living in the country for at least five years) and 54 percent have been granted pre-settled status (for those less than five years). The remaining three percent corresponds to invalid, withdrawn or rejected applications, according to data provided by the Embassy just a month ago. Spaniards are the fifth nationality by applicants after Poles, Romanians, Italians and Portuguese.
