The Civil Society EU Settlement Scheme Alliance: Supporting EU Citizens 

In February 2025, Seraphus took over the coordination of the Civil Society EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) Alliance from New Europeans UK, who successfully convened the group since 2023.

We are excited to bring the Alliance into our pro-bono work at Seraphus. As a team of leading immigration experts in the UK and with our position as advisers to the Delegation of the European Union to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Seraphus is uniquely positioned to amplify the insights from the Alliance members across both UK and EU institutions. We will integrate the EUSS Alliance into our wider collaboration with civil society actors. This is a crucial way to support a sector navigating the UK’s evolving digital immigration system and the EU communities impacted by it, particularly those under the EU Settlement Scheme.

The Alliance is a loose coalition of over 100 organisations across the UK, working with EU citizens and their family members who were resident in the UK before the end of 2020. It brings together practitioners and advocates who support communities navigating a complex and evolving digital immigration landscape.

Through regular meetings, the Alliance:

• Shares casework insights and experiences from the frontline
• Builds the capacity and skills of advisers through expert input
• Facilitates policy engagement with the Home Office, Independent Monitoring Authority, the European Commission, and UK parliamentarians
• Supports strategic advocacy on how the EUSS is being implemented

Despite the impression that Brexit-related immigration issues are behind us, the reality for EU citizens is far more complex. Vulnerable communities continue to face barriers that demand coordinated legal and community-based support. Seraphus is committed to ensuring continued attention on this significant population and the organisations supporting them.

Since the EU Settlement Scheme opened for applications, nearly six million people have secured their rights to live, work, rent, and access healthcare in the UK. Yet, many still require help with their EU Settlement Scheme applications and the work of supporting vulnerable individuals who missed the deadline or who are facing ongoing challenges remains critical.

Many who are yet to apply, or are seeking to reapply, face complex barriers:

• Lack of awareness, digital skills, or support networks
• Experiences of homelessness, domestic abuse, trafficking, or exploitation
• Belonging to marginalised communities, such as Roma and other ethnic minorities
• Having been refused previously, or living outside the UK for extended periods
• Seeking to reunite with family members abroad

There are still a significant number of people making applications, the Home Office reported an average of 45,000 applications per month at the end of 2024. Many of these require accredited legal support, which remains scarce and under-resourced.

The Alliance ensures advisers remain informed, supported, and connected, and that their work is amplified through policy advocacy, strategic litigation, and cross-sector learning.

While more than 4 million people have been granted settled status, nearly 3 million remain on pre-settled status and will need further legal assistance in the coming years. Yet, the infrastructure to support them is shrinking.

Government and independent funding for EU Settlement Scheme services has diminished significantly, despite the ongoing need. Many areas across the UK now lack accredited, free legal advice services entirely. National-level services often lack the local knowledge and nuance needed to reach vulnerable individuals effectively.

Without sustainable funding, the expertise built since 2019 when the Scheme was introduced risks being lost, and the capacity for meaningful policy change or improvement is reduced at the expense of people’s legal rights and status in the UK.

The Alliance works to bring these concerns from the sector and work with the Home Office, independent funders, EU member states, and parliamentarians to respond to the urgent need for resourcing in this space.

As the UK moves toward a fully digital immigration system in 2025, challenges continue to surface for those under the EU Settlement Scheme. Alliance members regularly report:

• Delays or refusals in Home Office decision-making
• Understanding of immigration status by border officials or statutory services
• Complex intersections with access to education, housing, benefits, and healthcare
• Rapidly changing policy that advisers struggle to keep up with due to limited capacity

To address these the Alliance:

• Offers upskilling opportunities across levels of legal accreditation
• Facilitate strategic case-sharing to inform litigation and policy engagement
• Provide feedback on Home Office proposals, such as the automated transitions from pre-settled to settled status.

As Seraphus coordinates the Alliance in 2025, we remain committed to supporting the Civil Society EU Settlement Scheme Alliance to:

• Protect the rights of EU citizens and their families in the UK
• Ensure ongoing access to high-quality legal advice and community-based support
• Work collectively to share learning from the EU Settlement Scheme with the wider sector, as the UK moves into a new era of digitised immigration

The alliance welcomes new members. You do not need to be a legally accredited provider to join. If you offer advice and support to vulnerable EU Citizens and their families in your area and would like to find out more about the Alliance, please contact lmartin@seraphus.co.uk.