Tens of thousands of Europeans face losing benefits within days as one in six yet to apply for EU settlement

Measures to protect late applicants ‘insufficient’ to ensure people do not lose basic rights, experts warn

Government estimates from the start of this month show that about 130,000 European benefit claimants in the UK have not applied for settled status (Getty)

Tens of thousands of Europeans in the UK face losing their welfare support within days after it emerged that one in six EU nationals claiming benefits are yet to apply for settled status.

Following Brexit, EU nationals and their family members who wish to stay in Britain must apply to the EU settlement scheme by 30 June. Those who do not will automatically become undocumented, leaving them unable to access state support and liable for deportation.

Government estimates from the start of this month seen by The Times suggest that there are about 820,000 European benefits claimants in the UK, of whom about 130,000 have not applied for settled status.

A No 10 spokesperson said the government had “already successfully identified hundreds of thousands” of those yet to apply and was “working hard to find the remaining number”.

Those who have not applied by the deadline will, in theory, no longer be eligible for state support and could therefore see their support suddenly stopped, potentially leaving them in financial turmoil.

The Home Office has said that those who have “reasonable grounds” for missing the deadline will be able to make a late application.

However, experts are concerned that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), employers, landlords and other civil society organisations who may come into contact with EU nationals who have not applied will not know to inform them that they may be able to make a late application.

They warn that these bodies may instead deny people benefits, employment, housing and other basic rights on the basis that they do not have EU settled status.

Luke Piper, head of policy at campaigning group the3million, said measures put in place by the government were “insufficient to protect people from the dangerous impact of the deadline”.

“We need legal protections that go beyond sensible policies to let people apply late and protect them from the hostile environment,” he added.

There are currently about 320,000 EU settlement applications still being processed. The Home Office has said that anyone who applies to the scheme by the 30 June deadline will “have their rights protected” until their application is decided.

However, charities say the department needs to do more to ensure the agencies providing basic services are informed of this.

Dr Olivia Vicol, director of the Work Rights Centre, said: “To avoid a crisis of mass disentitlement, it is now vital that it coaches the DWP, employers, landlords, and other civil society organisations in how to check the right of residence for EU nationals with pending status.

“The hostile environment policy has created a culture of everyday bordering, and there is a real danger that risk-averse organisations like the DWP will simply exclude EU+ citizens who are yet to obtain status.”

A spokesperson for the government said it did not comment on leaked documents, but that it was“working hard” to identify existing claimants who are yet to apply, adding that it had made £22m in funding available to support applications from vulnerable people.

They added: “In line with the [EU] withdrawal agreement, those who have reasonable grounds for missing the deadline will be able to make a late application.”