More than 100,000 people living and working in Kent from EU countries have successfully applied to remain in the UK under the government's scheme for settled status, according to official figures.

The deadline for applying to be given the right to remain in the UK passed this week. It did so amid some concerns that many applications had not yet been processed and that many had not applied, leaving them with no legal right to remain.

According to figures, 104,900 EU citizens living and working in Kent have been granted the right to remain, of which 41,340 did so despite not having lived in the UK for a continuous five-year period at any point in the past.

That is what is known as ‘pre-settled status’ which is permitted under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Those who fall into this category are expected to apply for full settled status at some point.

The scheme was set up after Brexit, which ended freedom of movement and the right of people from the EU to come to the UK.

The total number of those who had their applications approved was 104,900 across the county.

Medway had the highest number of applications granted at 17,170 followed by Maidstone at 15,100.

Nationally, there has been 5.6 million applications to the scheme from approximately 5.3 million people at the end of May.

The difference between these two numbers is due to repeat applications, some of which represent people moving from pre-settled to settled status.

Among those who could be at risk are children whose parents came to the UK many years ago and have not sought the right to remain under immigration laws.

However, the Kent MP Craig Mackinlay gave short shrift to those who had failed to register by the deadline saying that the process was straightforward and could be done in 10 minutes.

"I am struggling to know what these concerns are because the process has been relatively simple...”

He said his wife's application was completed quickly and dealt with within 48 hours.

He said: “We have known about this for a very long time and it has been well advertised and the government has been talking to relevant groups...I am struggling to know what these concerns are because the process has been relatively simple.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “There have been more than five million grants of status through the EU Settlement Scheme since it opened in March 2019, which is an extraordinary effort to secure the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.”

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