Nearly 2,000 EU citizens in Scarborough apply to stay in UK

The EU Settlement Scheme allows resident EU and Swiss citizens, plus those from the European Economic Area countries to apply to continue living and working in the UK.

Official figures show that 1,950 applications were made in Scarborough up to the end of last year, of which 1,700 were finalised.

Of those, 870 applicants were granted settled status, meaning they have a permanent right to remain in the UK. A further 820 were handed pre-settled status, which gives them permission to keep living in the country.

Fewer than 10 applications had other outcomes, such as being refused, withdrawn or void, or invalid.

The national figures cover up to the end of January.

In Scarborough, Polish nationals made the most applications up to the end of December (700), followed by people from Romania (620) and Latvia (120).

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the programme as the “biggest of its kind in British history”, which would mean “EU citizens can evidence their rights for decades to come”, adding: “It’s now time for EU countries to adopt a similar scheme.”

But Maike Bohn, co-founder of the3million, said the figures do not shed light on those who don’t apply, are refused unlawfully or discouraged from applying.

She added: “Just a small percentage of individuals falling through the cracks means misery for tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people.