Why so many EU citizens aren’t applying to stay in Britain

More than a million European nationals are yet to apply for settled status but, writes May Bulman, it is not quite as simple as filling out a form

EU and Union Jack flags fly outside the Houses of Parliament in October (AFP)

How often does the government tell millions of people to do something and they all actually do it? Probably never, is the answer. Take voting in general elections – the turnout hasn’t exceeded 70 per cent since the 1990s. Yet when it comes to ordering EU nationals living and working in this country to apply to a new and unfamiliar settlement scheme, ministers seem to anticipate no problem, boasting about how “simple and straightforward” the process is.

But however easy they make it to apply under the Home Office’s EU settlement scheme – which, incidentally, is not always easy – not everyone will. Research published by the Aire Centre on Wednesday proves this, showing that more than a million EU nationals and their family members – that’s around one in three – are yet to register.

There are several reasons for this. The Independent has reported on concerns that many harder-to-reach people, such as the elderly, children in care and those who are being exploited, will inevitably slip through the net because the government’s communications about the scheme will not reach them, or they simply will not have the ability to apply on their own.