Will EU nationals who have not applied for settlement by 30 June be subjected to the hostile environment?

The Home Office’s reliance on employers and landlords to pass on immigration advice to late applicants instead of turning them away seems risky, writes May Bulman

The immigration minister has tried to alleviate fears about the implications for those who fail to apply by 30 June (Getty)

With just over a week to go before the EU settlement scheme deadline, the immigration minister has tried to alleviate fears about the implications for those who fail to apply by 30 June.

Speaking to journalists in an online press briefing about the scheme on Tuesday, Kevin Foster said that anyone with “reasonable grounds” for missing the deadline would be able to make a late application, and that the Home Office would take a “compassionate approach”.

He made assurances that individuals who failed to apply would not immediately fall victim to the hostile environment – a set of government policies intended to block people without immigration status from accessing basic services such as housing, employment and the NHS.