EU Settlement Scheme

At Hampshire Hospitals we truly value the vast contribution our EU workforce makes towards providing dedicated and professional care to our patients.

As a trust we are here to support you with your EU Settlement Scheme application. You can contact Employee Relations Team with any questions or concerns at employmentrelations@hhft.nhs.uk 

If you’re an EU,EEA or Swiss citizen, living in the UK before 1 January 2021 you and your family can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in UK after 30th June 2021. If your application is successful, you’ll get either settled or pre-settled status.

The EU Settlement Scheme is open and you can apply now

EU staff who have a valid UK permanent residence document will be required to obtain settled status by applying to the EU settlement scheme, as permanent residence will cease to be a valid immigration status.

EU Staff who have indefinite leave to enter/remain in the UK will not need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme and can remain in the UK under their existing immigration status. They can, however, choose to apply and, should they meet the criteria, will be granted “indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme”. The advantage of applying for settled status is that they will be able to leave the UK for up to five years without losing their settled status (four years for Swiss nationals). This is an increase from two years under indefinite leave to enter/remain. Other than this there is no difference between the two.

EU staff who have been naturalised as British citizens will be unaffected by the UK’s exit from the EU.
EU citizens who have held a document confirming permanent residence (including settled status) for 12 months or more, are eligible to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen. EU citizens considering naturalisation will need to ensure that the rules of their home country permit dual nationality, whether there are any tax implications, and whether any of their family members may be affected by them obtaining British citizenship.

A naturalisation application currently costs £1,330 for adults and £1,012 for children.

The deadline for applying is 30 June 2021 and is free to apply.

Further information on EU Settlement Scheme is available on the GOV.UK website 
 

The EU Settlement Scheme requires applicants to complete three steps:

•    Confirm identity using a passport or residence card. This can be done using the EU Exit: ID Document Check app (available on Android devices and Apple devices from iPhone 7 and above), sending the documents to the Home Office by post, or by visiting one of the locations where documents can be scanned and verified. Applicants will also need to verify their identity by uploading a photo of themselves in their application. 

•    Provide evidence of residence in the UK. This may be done automatically via employment and benefit records such as national insurance number. However, if applicants do not have five continuous years of national insurance contributions, they will need to provide supplementary evidence (or will be granted pre-settled status). 

•    Declare they have no serious or continuous criminal convictions.
Supplementary evidence may include: annual bank statement, a signed and dated letter from an employer or a signed and dated letter from an accredited college, a TV licence, confirmation of doctor appointments, etc. Further information about what evidence is accepted can be found on the Gov.uk website.
 

What do I do next?

You will receive a letter from the home office confirming your successful application (there is a 12 digit number code on the top right-hand corner of the letter).  This will confirm whether you have settled or pre-settled status.

Once you have this, you can then apply for your share code.  This can be done using this link: www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status.  The share code is a nine digit code with letters and numbers.

Once you have both the home office letter and the share code, please send BOTH to: employmentrelations@hhft.nhs.uk

What happens next?

The Trust then carries out a verification process on line. 

If we are able to match the picture you uploaded as part of your application to the photo ID we have for you on file, no further action is needed from you. 

If we are unable to match the picture (i.e. your appearance has changed or the photo is unclear), we will reach out to you to complete a very quick identity check.

This completes the process for those with settled status.  For those with pre-settled status, we will write to you close to the expiry date of your pre-settled status asking for an update on your future application.

We will be actively contacting you over the next few months to obtain the necessary information.

The Mutual Recognition of Professional qualification Directive will continue until 31 December 2020. Any qualification that is not entitled to automatic recognition will be assessed by the relevant regulator as it is currently NMC, GMC, HCPC etc. Healthcare professionals whose qualification has been recognised and who are registered before 31 December will continue to be registered afterwards.

We are still awaiting to hear from the Government on guidance as to what the requirements will be to those applications put in place after the 31st December and will update this site accordingly once it is published. 
 

If you’re in the UK, you can get help filling in your online Home Office application. If you do not feel confident using a computer or mobile device and/or do not have internet access, you can also contact the EU settlement resolution centre 

Capsticks LLP have produced frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) and how this affects employers and staff in the NHS.