Campaigners have warned that tens of thousands of British expats living in the EU still have not applied to confirm their status, and face a 30 day post-Brexit rights deadline.
Since the UK left the EU the bloc was put into two groups with those having emigrated to Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta and France have 30 days to retain their rights to remain.
Portugal and Spain along with 12 other countries automatically granted residency to Brits who already legally living in those countries.
Some 298,000 Brits live in 13 countries, only 190,000 have applied for their right to remain leaving more than 100,000 Brits at risk.
Professor Michaela Benson, of public sociology at Lancaster University, who specialises in British residents of the EU, told the Guardian, “We urgently need more communication from the UK, the EU and member states to get in touch, especially with hard-to-reach, vulnerable UK citizens who risk missing a vital cut-off point.”
Professor Benson added that British expats could end up “falling through the gaps” or those who “are just scraping by, perhaps in remote areas,” or “homeless British people, sick British people, British children in care.”
In a joint statement released by the UK and the EU officials on the citizens’ rights committee last Friday, it stated, “The UK and the EU recalled that EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in France, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands need to apply for a new residence status by June 30, 2021, in order to be protected by the withdrawal agreement.
“The UK and the EU also emphasised the importance of providing clear communications and comprehensive support to vulnerable or hard-to-reach citizens.
“Public and non-public bodies must also work to ensure that beneficiaries of the withdrawal agreement are able to enjoy their rights and entitlements, particularly when accessing benefits and services and exercising their right to work, rent and study.”
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