Settled Status beta test info?

[NikiGio]

Hi All

Does anyone have any further inside information or insights on how the Settled Status beta test/early trial is going and whether the general applications phase is likely to open before the end of this year or not?

I've looked at the HO page on it:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nhs- ... ent-scheme

At articles like:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ial-august

And at threads on here:
search.php?keywords=Beta+test&terms=all ... mit=Search

From another forum, I know of somebody based up North who is one of the 4000 guinea pigs participating in the trial - this person is doing the beta test this month, and all participants to the trial are being interviewed by HO reps about their experience of the process - for lessons learned. No feedback yet.

[beaujam90]

The HO hasn't released any information about it to the public. This beta test is a private teste to see how the caseworkers can cope with it. The registration app is complet and ready. I have heard that the HO will make a new trial at the end of this year, therefore I believe that the government will still use the EU citizens as bargaining chips until the end. This is to show to the British public that the conservative government give no favours and has no merci on EU citizens.

[Mugen]

Will ios users be able to apply for SS with their devices?

[beaujam90]

No ios yet. but Apple is looking at it

[beaujam90]

here is your answer

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/201 ... e-phase-2/

[NikiGio]

here is your answer

https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/201 ... e-phase-2/

Thanks for this - seems to be hot off the press. Looks like one of my relatives can participate in the phase starting on 15 November.

[kamoe]

Starts on Nov 1st.

Just received this via email:

Brexit update for EU citizens in the UK

This is the latest information on the EU Settlement Scheme for EU citizens in the UK. You are receiving this because you have requested email updates from the UK government.

The Home Office has been working to develop a new scheme which allows resident EU citizens and their family members to obtain the UK immigration status they will need in order to remain here permanently.

The EU Settlement Scheme will be fully open by 30 March next year. EU citizens and their family members will have until 30 June 2021 to apply, in line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement.

Testing is already underway. Since August, EU citizens working for a small number of NHS trusts and universities in the north west of England, and students at those universities, have been able to apply for status under the scheme.

A new phase of testing will begin next month. It will involve many more organisations across the UK, including higher education institutions and organisations in the wider health and social care sector. Testing the system with real applicants helps the Home Office ensure the new system operates effectively when it opens fully.

You do not need to do anything for now. EU citizens eligible to apply in the latest test phase will receive information from their employer.

Further information about the scheme can be found on GOV.UK.

[at12]

I have taken part in the trial. It was nice to see the Home Office staff face-to-face considering we only deal with them via post! They were all very friendly.
At the moment the App is not finalised yet, so the pilot consists of two stages:
1. They take a photocopy of your ID and then you enter the information on an on-line system using a laptop. The system is just like any other on-line system from the government: fill out some forms, pay the fee (waived if you already have PR) and wait for the outcome. I have not received the decision yet but heard of people that obtained that within a week. The data they request is essentially name, address, id, photo and NI number. The latter to check if there are records that you have been here for 5 years (or less if going for pre-settled status). If you have no NI records then I think you can enter the information of what you have been doing manually but it is not really clear how you can provide evidence of that.
2. (Voluntary) test their app. In the end the app is the main thing as I think they want to avoid being flooded with documents such as passports – they just want everything to be done electronically. The app will read the information from the passport's chip and also has a facial recognition module - this is the part they are testing at the moment. The reading of the passport was not straightforward in my hands - it took a bit of time until I found the right position to read it (and in my case I had to read from the back of the passport). Someone was taking notes all the time - presumably of things that were not working as expected so that they can improve the functionality.

[at12]

I should note that they provide their own mobiles with the app for testing; you do not download the app to your own device!

[Mugen]

Thanks for sharing!
Really hope they develop an app for ios users for convenience.

[Alex0226]

My wife and I are eligible since shes a student in salford university as one in the Northwest. Where can we have it done as a designated location for the Northwest.

[NikiGio]

I have taken part in the trial.

Really useful - thanks for sharing!

Did you get an e-mail via your institution informing you that you were eligible and inviting you to take part, or were you informed some other way?

[at12]

Yes, it was announced to all members of staff and the Home Office also gave a talk beforehand to explain what the settled scheme is about.
After that those that had interest could book a day to participate in the scheme.

[NikiGio]

Tweet and embedded video from one of the EU citizens who's just taken part in the second phase of the Settled Status trial:

Weblink removed

Weblink removed

Approval given within 27 hours.

Moderator edit : Kindly refrain from posting video/social media links that will identify an individual on an public forum page.

[askmeplz82]

friend of mine got approval in 5 hours. she applied in lunch hour round 1pm and her application approved and email received at 6pm

[NikiGio]

Tweet and embedded video from one of the EU citizens who's just taken part in the second phase of the Settled Status trial:

Weblink removed

Weblink removed

Approval given within 27 hours.

Moderator edit : Kindly refrain from posting video/social media links that will identify an individual on an public forum page.

Moderators - Twitter is a public forum, so I'm unsure why it's a problem to post a link to Twitter and to a video on Twitter. The person in question is very publicly active with the #3 Million. Fail to see a privacy issue here.

I've also previously followed Twitter links posted by one of the moderators - so clearly posting a Twitter link is allowed.

[NikiGio]

friend of mine got approval in 5 hours. she applied in lunch hour round 1pm and her application approved and email received at 6pm

Gosh - that's impressive.
Hopefully they'll keep it up when processing 3 million application in 1.5 years.

[Breev]

I applied on 19 November and still waiting to receive my approval...

[psot2]

I applied on 19 November and still waiting to receive my approval...

Did you get it in the end?

[psot2]

I applied on Thursday 6th of December. Still waiting for a response.

[Kruk]

My wife applied last night around 8pm and this morning after 8am she received approval e-mail.

I think that there is some automation in approval process and if everything is ok then approval is provided very quickly. In case if there is any issue then the application is passed to the case worked and this can take longer.

[psot2]

The super fast response times are given to those who have been resident in the UK for the past 5 years with a full time job with no gaps. If you've been a student/housewife/anything else which doesn't pay taxes or receive benefits, your application will take longer as you'll have to submit separate documents proving your residence.

I just looked up how the home office does document verification checks here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... ion-v1.pdf

I'm assuming the delay in response to my application is due to the verification process of my degree certificates, which I used to prove my residence.

These are the questions they may ask each university:
- is [subject / qualification] offered by your institution?
- did [Named Individual] attend your institution?
- were they awarded [qualification]?
- when were they awarded this qualification?

If you used bank statements to prove your residence, there are the questions they may ask your bank:
- does the account/branch exist?
- is the applicant known to the bank?
- is the balance correct?
- is the statement genuine?
- does the signatory work at that branch?
- do the statement details match your records?

[psot2]

Update: I just got a positive response.

Applied on 6th December, got approved today, 18 December.

Took 12 days to process.

[zusman]

How does settled status card look like?
Anybody wants to share photo?

[rooibos]

How does settled status card look like?
Anybody wants to share photo?

There's no card.