The government said on Thursday More than 3.8 million EU citizens have applied to settle in Britain under a scheme launched following the country’s Brexit referendum.
“I’m pleased there have been more than 3.8 million applications,” tweeted Kevin Foster, the Home Office’s immigration minister.
The Home Office said that over 2 million people have been granted the right to carry on living and working in Britain, citing provisional figures as of July 31.
In addition, almost 1.5 million people were granted pre-settled status, meaning they need to reapply after living in Britain for five years to gain permanent residence.
According to the Home Office, 4,600 applications were refused, 36,500 were void or withdrawn, and 34,900 were invalid.
The deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme is June 30.
It is applicable for people from the EU as well as from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Britain formally left the European Union on Jan. 31.
An 11-month transition period is now running.
Talks on Britain’s future relations with the EU have been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Applications for settlement also dropped during the peak of the pandemic, but have picked up again,’’ the Home Office said.
