EU Settlement Scheme support clinic to run in Elgin at the weekend
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A SUPPORT clinic for those going through the process of applying to remain in the United Kingdom after Brexit is being run in Elgin this weekend.
EU citizens and their family members have less than a month left to apply to remain in the UK after June 30.
Most of the people left to apply have "very complex" cases, according to the Citizens Rights Project, with concerns that some may not be able to apply on time.
The free clinic aims to help those people and will take place on Saturday, June 5, between 11am and 5pm at the Williamson Hall on Duff Avenue in Elgin.
Help can be provided in English, Spanish, Polish and Romanian – with other languages on offer for those who apply to attend the clinic beforehand.
For those who are not able to attend, Citizens Rights Project also offers support online.
Noelia Martinez, Citizens Rights Project coordinator, said: “The EU Settlement Scheme involves a straightforward application for most people.
"However, it has been designed with the circumstances of a fully-integrated, working EU adult in mind.
"It presents real difficulties to many of the most vulnerable, such as children, elderly, homeless people, victims of domestic abuse, people with a language barrier or people digitally excluded, among others.
"Reaching out to these citizens is more challenging and requires time. On top of these, once reached most of them have very complex circumstances. Their applications are very likely to be lengthy and distressful for the applicant.”
The number of people supported by the Citizens Rights Project with their EU Settlement Scheme application has doubled since the beginning of the grace period – the additional six months between January and June that EU citizens have to apply after the end of free movement.
Clinics, which are running thanks to a support grant from the Scottish Government, will visit 14 different locations, including Elgin, and are a last effort to reach as many people as possible before the deadline.
Noelia Martinez added: “Reaching out to hundreds of thousands of EU citizens in less than three years, with limited resources, no official figures of the people who are eligible and in the middle of a pandemic has been a very challenging task.
"Since March 2020, we have been unable to travel around Scotland. We are glad we can resume our face-to-face support just before the deadline, but we are concerned this won’t be enough.
"This is a key activity to reach the most vulnerable communities and remote locations.
"Although we have made a great online effort and try to keep continuous communication with local authorities and third sector organisations, they have been swamped with work related to Covid-19 and the EU Settlement Scheme has inevitably not been their top priority.
"Everything indicates that there will be people left behind who won't apply on time.
"We welcome the guidance on late applications published by the Home Office in April. However, there is no temporary protection for those who apply late."
In Moray, 2960 applications were made to the scheme up to March 31, with 140 of those still outstanding.
Of all applications concluded up to up to 2021, 69.5 per cent were granted settled status (available if you have lived in the UK for more than five years), 27.7 per cent pre-settled status (for people who have lived in the UK for up to five years) and 2.8 per cent have ‘other’ outcomes.
Other outcomes include refused, withdrawn, void and invalid applications.
The top five nationalities of applicants up 2021 were Polish (1120), Portuguese (270), German (260), Lithuanian (160) and Bulgarian (140).
In total, 50 citizens from outwith the European Economic Area have applied to the scheme in Moray.
This group, along with Bulgarians – Moray’s fifth largest nationality group applying – can have more negative experiences of the scheme.
Non-EEA applicants, for example, have the highest negative conclusion rate of any nationality group in Scotland.
For more information on the event at the Williamson Hall and to book your place in advance, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-support-with-settled-status-application-elgin-tickets-153958681561.
