During this pre-election period and in anticipation of a new government, Settled calls on politicians and officials to take note of these recommendations:

1. RESPECT
EU citizens who have settled in the UK make an enormous contribution to our nation and to local communities. Their rights are established in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) department at the Home Office has worked successfully and respectfully so that millions of EU citizens and their family members, who already considered the UK their home, have met the requirements and secured settled or pre-settled status.

Settled calls for the rights of EU citizens to be safeguarded; for the tone of political discussions to remain respectful; and for all branches of the Home Office, including Border Control, consistently to show the same respectful approach as colleagues working on the EU Settlement Scheme.

2. ADVICE
EU citizens in the UK are more likely to gain settled status, exercise their rights, and access services and overcome difficulties, if they receive free, expert advice. It could take a generation before we can be assured that Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries, including their children, have resolved immigration status difficulties: there is the risk of another Windrush-type scandal. Employers, landlords and statutory services can also find the EU Settlement Scheme confusing, and need a reliable source of advice on rights and entitlements. Home Office funding for advice services is not secure beyond March 2025.

Settled calls for specialist advice organisations to be sustained for the long-term.

3. A SIMPLE ROUTE TO SETTLED STATUS
Settled Status provides EU citizens with the stability to get on with life in the UK. EU citizens may meet the requirements for length of time in the UK but struggle to evidence it. EU citizens who have been awarded pre-settled status must reapply for settled status. In doing so they must not only submit evidence of time spent in UK since being granted pre-settled status, but also re-submit evidence used in the earlier application.

Settled calls for the Home Office to grant settled status to pre-settled status in all but exceptional cases. The Home Office should maximise the efficient use of its own data records, cross-referenced with records at the DWP and other departments, so that in as many cases as possible EU citizens with pre-settled status are automatically granted settled status, requirements to provide evidence are minimized, and there are no requests to re-submit evidence that has already been received. Furthermore, that in cases of vulnerability, letters from community organisations are accepted in place of missing evidence. Not only will this reduce risks for EU citizens, it is also likely to reduce administrative costs.

4. PROOF OF RIGHTS
Some EU citizens struggle to use the digital View and Prove system for evidencing pre-settled or settled status. This causes problems exercising basic rights such as accessing services, employment and tenancies, and when crossing borders. This in turn can contribute to poverty, poor health, homelessness, exploitation, and community tension; and can cause avoidable difficulties for local authorities, health authorities and government departments.

Settled calls for the View and Prove system to be made more user-friendly and more reliable, and for the introduction of a back-up document.