The council is urging Croydon residents with citizenship of other European 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 other European Union (EU) countries and many more work at businesses in Croydon, including the council.
On Monday 23 September representatives from the European Commission will hold a session at Braithwaite Hall in Croydon Clocktower from 6pm to 9pm where non-British citizens of EU countries, non-EU countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland can learn more about applying for settled status in the United Kingdom. Getting this status means they will continue to have the right to remain after Brexit, regardless of whether a deal is agreed.
Led by a European Commission adviser on UK immigration law, 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. The event is the first of 14 such roadshow events across the UK.
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. If you have lived in the UK for less than five years by this date, you can apply for pre-settled status. This means you can go on to achieve settled status after living in the UK continuously for five years.
For more information about the event on 23 September and to book a place, visit this EventBrite page link or visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eu-citizens-rights-brexit-information-session-with-seraphus-and-sponsors-tickets-72928207231
Meanwhile, this Thursday Croydon’s cabinet will provide a separate update on council actions taken ahead of Brexit. This includes:
• 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 incredibly proud that our borough has welcomed such a diverse and international population, including thousands of EU citizens who have made their home here.
“We want our European residents and businesses to know that Croydon is open to them as friends, colleagues and neighbours. We are doing everything we can to support them and plan ahead for the upheaval of Brexit, and I urge them to attend this event to find out more about applying to stay.”
Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the council
