According to the latest figures from the Home Office, almost five million people have been allowed to continue living and working in Britain under the UK Settlement scheme.
The data shows that as of the end of June, 4,908,760 people had been granted an immigration status to remain in the country after freedom of movement ended following the Brexit transition period.
EU citizens living in the UK, as well as people from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, had been asked to apply to the scheme along with their families by the June 30th deadline.
Quarterly data published this month suggest more than 5.5 million people (5,548,440) had applied by that date.
The figures are far higher than the latest official estimate of how many EU nationals live in the UK with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggesting that in mid-2020 this was 3.5 million.
The Home Office said that six million applications (6,050,860) were submitted for the UK Settlement Scheme between the launch of the scheme in March 2019 and the deadline in June 2021.
Over 2.8 million were granted settled status, allowing them permanent leave to remain (2,846,820). A further 2.3 million (2,327,850) were granted pre-settled status, which means they need to reapply after living in the country for five years to gain permanent residence.
109,430 applications refused, 80,600 withdrawn or void, and 79,730 were deemed invalid, where the Home Office decides someone is not eligible to apply or has failed to provide sufficient proof of residence.
Immigration status was also awarded to 295,890 people from countries like India, Pakistan and Brazil under the scheme which allows family members who are not EU or European Economic Area nationals to also apply.
The Home Office bulletin said: “Across all nationalities, the highest numbers of applications received were from Polish, Romanian and Italian nationals. This has been the trend throughout the life of the scheme.”
Here at Knightsbridge Solicitors, we are passionate about giving you and your family the best possible opportunities in the UK. Contact our experienced immigration team today on 0115 824 1700.