EU NATIONALS living in Coventry can obtain free legal advice to protect their rights to healthcare, benefits and pensions following a Brexit deal or no deal.
Coventry City Council has teamed up with the Central England Law Centre to provide free, independent and confidential support with European Union (EU) Settlement Scheme applications.
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, EU and European Economic Area (EEA) citizens living in Coventry will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before June 30 2021. Successful applications will allow them to continue to live legally in the UK beyond Brexit and protect their existing rights.
New rules, such as a points-based immigration system, will apply to all EEA and EU citizens who arrive in the UK on or after January 1 2021 and wish to remain.
All EEA citizens must apply but also may need to apply on behalf of children, family members or carers.
Coventry City Council and the Central England Law Centre will work together to provide application support and advice, free legal advice, information sessions and digital support. The partnership will also help clients with document retrieval, as well as signposting them to other services across the city.
Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Council Leader, said: “The application process can be difficult, especially for those who are not familiar with UK systems or with limited English. By offering this support we hope to give everyone a fair chance of protecting their rights”
Those wishing to access the support on offer can email [email protected] or call 07507 726 526 on Wednesdays and Fridays. Applications are taking longer to be processed due to Covid-19.
