The council is urging Croydon residents who are citizens of European Union (EU) countries to attend a town centre event on how to apply for a permanent right to stay.
Around 33,000 people living in the borough are citizens of EU countries and many more work at businesses in Croydon, including the council.
On Tuesday 25 February, representatives from the council, the European Commission and Chris Benn from immigration law firm Seraphus will host a session in the Arthur Davidson Suite in Fairfield Halls from 6pm to 9pm.
Non-British citizens of EU countries, non-EU countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland will have the opportunity to learn more about applying for settled status in the United Kingdom, which means they will continue to have the right to remain after Brexit.
The free event will give up-to-date information about the EU Settlement Scheme and how to apply for it, followed by a question and answer session.
Settled status applications are for EEA and Swiss nationals who have lived and worked in the UK continually for the five years up to 30 September 2020.
People who have lived in the UK for less than five years by this date, can apply for pre-settled status.
This means they can go on to achieve settled status after living in the UK continuously for five years.
For more information about the event on 25 February and to book a place, visit this EventBrite page:
Croydon Council has been working to plan for Brexit and support communities through a range of initiatives including:
- A Brexit working group to lead the council’s contingency planning
- Help from town hall registrars with online settled status applications for up to around 40 EU nationals from Croydon a week
- Supporting EEA national care leavers and children looked-after to apply for settled status
- Developing an anti-hate crime action plan to address potential community cohesion issues in advance of and after Brexit
- Ongoing discussions with suppliers, businesses, community representatives and partners in the NHS and emergency services
- Signposting residents via the council website to useful information online
“Croydon Council is proud to have welcomed such a diverse and international population to the borough, including thousands of EU citizens who have made their home here.
“We want our European residents and businesses to know that Croydon remains open to them as friends, colleagues and neighbours. We are doing everything we can to support them post-Brexit, and I urge them to attend this event to find out more about applying to stay.”
Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the council
