Rights for EEA/EU Citizens in Scotland

On Saturday 30 March 2019, the EU Settlement Scheme officially opened after seven months of successful private and public testing. Over 50,000 applications were received on the opening weekend of the Scheme going live, bringing the total number of applications made to more than 280,000.

We continue to see a high volume of people on the site, but there is plenty of time for EEA and Swiss citizens to make an application.

EU citizens and their families will be able to apply for settled status or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you’ll need to be living in the UK before it leaves the EU to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. The deadline for applying will be 31 December 2020.

Applications to the Scheme are free and are made via a short online application process.

The government has made a toolkit available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-settlement-scheme-community-leaders-toolkit.

The toolkit contains leaflets with

  • important information for EU citizens in the UK
  • A short introduction to the EU Settlement Scheme
  • Support that is available to EU citizens in the UK
  • A flowchart outlining the application process

There are also videos about the EU Settlement Scheme and on how to use the EU Exit: ID Document Check App.

A guide has also been produced by the Civil Society Brexit Project and Just Right Scotland. This guide contains information about the rights of EEA/EU citizens and their families living in the UK. The guide is a series of factsheets covering:

 Right to reside
 Right to work
 Right to benefits, housing and other forms of social work support
 Right to healthcare
 Right to vote
 Right to education

This guide is intended to help you understand your rights as an EEA/EU citizen in Scotland but it is important to note that it does not constitute legal advice.

The guide can be found on our website at http://www.moray.gov.uk/downloads/file122565.pdf. 

The Civil Society Brexit Project runs workshops around EEA/EU citizen rights and can provide expert information or advice on various aspects of Brexit. For more information visit the website at https://www.hrcscotland.org/work-brexit/ or email hrcscotland@gmail.com.

On 24 April, the Scottish Government launched its toolkit to support EU citizens who wish to stay in Scotland. It can be found at https://www.gov.scot/publications/eu-citizens-staying-in-scotland-package-of-support/

 

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