EEA Citizen Settled Status Application & Sending Documents

[kammak]

Hi All,

If I apply for settled status and need to send my ID to Home Office because it's not biometric, will they only start considering my application after they've received the document or is it possible to get a decision before I submit it?

I have a biometric passport, but it expires in March 2020, so I'd rather use my non-biometric national identity card, which expires in 2023 by which time I'm hoping to have British citizenship, so that I don't have to worry about having to update my documents and send them to Home Office for checking (I'd rather not send my passport in case I need for work-related travel).

At the same time, I don't want to slow down my application, especially because I'd feel safer having my settled status confirmed before the end of October in case the UK leaves the EU.

Thank you.

[kamoe]

If I apply for settled status and need to send my ID to Home Office because it's not biometric, will they only start considering my application after they've received the document or is it possible to get a decision before I submit it?

Your ID is the single most important piece of documentation of the whole process, as this proves the identity of the applicant. So the answer to your question is, obviously, NO.

I have a biometric passport

Then you can apply via the app, and do not need to send your passport at all.

, but it expires in March 2020, so I'd rather use my non-biometric national identity card, which expires in 2023 by which time I'm hoping to have British citizenship, so that I don't have to worry about having to update my documents and send them to Home Office for checking (I'd rather not send my passport in case I need for work-related travel).

The document you use has to be valid on the date of application, there is no restriction as to how long it needs to be valid after that. You do have to inform the HO if you renew the passport you used in the application, but as far as I understand, you do not need to send it at all.

At the same time, I don't want to slow down my application, especially because I'd feel safer having my settled status confirmed before the end of October in case the UK leaves the EU.

In the event of no deal the deadline for applying for the Settlement Scheme is 31st December 2020, NOT Brexit date. No one is being kicked out of the country if they have not applied by then, so no point in constraining your plans with an imaginary October deadline. Also, Average decision time is between 24 and 48 hours for EU nationals applying through the app. About two weeks postal. So even if the deadline was indeed October, you would still have time.

[kammak]

If I apply for settled status and need to send my ID to Home Office because it's not biometric, will they only start considering my application after they've received the document or is it possible to get a decision before I submit it?

Your ID is the single most important piece of documentation of the whole process, as this proves the identity of the applicant. So the answer to your question is, obviously, NO.

I have a biometric passport

Then you can apply via the app, and do not need to send your passport at all.

, but it expires in March 2020, so I'd rather use my non-biometric national identity card, which expires in 2023 by which time I'm hoping to have British citizenship, so that I don't have to worry about having to update my documents and send them to Home Office for checking (I'd rather not send my passport in case I need for work-related travel).

The document you use has to be valid on the date of application, there is no restriction as to how long it needs to be valid after that. You do have to inform the HO if you renew the passport you used in the application, but as far as I understand, you do not need to send it at all.

At the same time, I don't want to slow down my application, especially because I'd feel safer having my settled status confirmed before the end of October in case the UK leaves the EU.

In the event of no deal the deadline for applying for the Settlement Scheme is 31st December 2020, NOT Brexit date. No one is being kicked out of the country if they have not applied by then, so no point in constraining your plans with an imaginary October deadline. Also, Average decision time is between 24 and 48 hours for EU nationals applying through the app. About two weeks postal. So even if the deadline was indeed October, you would still have time.

Thank you for taking the time to reply, kamoe.

According to https://www.gov.uk/update-eu-settlement-scheme-details, 'If you’ve got a new identity document you’ll need to send this in the post - you’ll be told where to send it in the service.' and I wanted to avoid having to send my new document to HO only a few months after I've hopefully got my status. My current biometric document expires in March, but I'll collect my new one in December when I visit my home country, so the old one will become invalid. Apparently, they are working on making it possible to upload new documents online, but I'm not sure when this option will become available.

I think what I might do is apply for settled status using my biometric passport to get my application processed as soon as possible, and once it's become invalid, because I've got a new one, I might update it to and send my non-biometric national ID which is valid until 2023. I hope this won't be confusing to HO why I'm sending an old document instead of sending a new passport.

[kamoe]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, kamoe.

According to https://www.gov.uk/update-eu-settlement-scheme-details, 'If you’ve got a new identity document you’ll need to send this in the post - you’ll be told where to send it in the service.'

I see. Well, that's inconvenient! I would have thought you could scan the document again with the app, sorry, I was not aware of this. You are right, best not to use a document that will expire soon.

and I wanted to avoid having to send my new document to HO only a few months after I've hopefully got my status. My current biometric document expires in March, but I'll collect my new one in December when I visit my home country, so the old one will become invalid.

In this case, you can just apply in December with your brand new passport directly through the app, no need to send anything.

I think what I might do is apply for settled status using my biometric passport to get my application processed as soon as possible, and once it's become invalid, because I've got a new one, I might update it to and send my non-biometric national ID which is valid until 2023. I hope this won't be confusing to HO why I'm sending an old document instead of sending a new passport.

I am not sure this will work, as they will be expecting a new passport, not a national ID.

As I said earlier, the deadline for applying is NOT Brexit date, is 31st December 2020. You can wait for your new passport with no problem and apply in December 2019, even if we crash out with no deal On October 31st.: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal
You will need to be living in the UK before it leaves the EU to apply. The deadline for applying will be 31 December 2020.

[kammak]

Thank you.

According to an article from https://europestreet.news from July:

'Contacted by Europe Street, the Home Office says that while at the moment new ID documents have to be sent in for manual verification, the online system will soon allow to make the changes through the “Update My Details” function.

“We are currently working on delivering a fast, secure and user friendly process for applicants to add new ID documents to their status profile through an entirely online process and expect this service to be available later this summer,” the Home Office said.

“Applicants may choose to wait for the fully digital process to be available before updating their ID document information while in the short term continuing to access their digital status using their existing document number,” they added.

The Home Office also clarified that the ‘settled status’ does not depend on the ID document it is associated to.

Generally, the Home Office says, users can continue accessing their status online by entering the document number used in the application, even if the document has expired. Once a new ID document is added, the new document number will be needed to log in.'

I haven't seen any other updates on this, but hopefully this will be sorted sooner rather than later.

I have also just read on https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ter-brexit:

'The UK will also be phasing out the use of EEA national identity cards for travel to the UK. This will happen during 2020. More details will be provided in due course.

We recognise that some people will need to apply for a passport and that sufficient notice will be required to enable them to do so.'

So it looks like my idea to send my non-biometric national ID in place of my expired biometric passport might not be the best one as it's likely you won't be able to use them to travel to the UK anyway.

Just posting all this here in case someone finds it useful.

As you said, it would probably make more sense for me to wait with applying for settled status until I've got my new passport or if I apply now, I'll just have to send my new passport once I've got it or maybe it will be possible to upload it digitally by that time.