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BREXIT EU Settlement Scheme

European Union citizens & their families

Isle of Man Settlement Scheme

In April 2017 the Council of Ministers considered and agreed to protect the position of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals who currently live and work within the Island, maintaining an integrated approach to comparable immigration policies across the Common Travel Area (CTA) members.

In February 2018 the Council of Ministers considered and agreed the Isle of Man would introduce an EU Settlement Scheme aligned to the UK Scheme to:

  • create a unified position for EU nationals between the CTA members
  • provide certainty and a status to those nationals who wish to remain in the Isle of Man following the UK's exit from the EU
  • provide certainty to Isle of Man employers of the position of their EU national employees

The Isle of Man EU Settlement Scheme will be introduced as an Appendix to the Isle of Man Immigration Rules scheduled to go live in March 2019.

The Isle of Man scheme will closely align to the UK scheme based on the agreement the UK has reached for EU citizens and their families:

  • EU citizens and their family members who by 31 December 2020 have been continuously resident in the UK for 5 years will be eligible for 'settled status' under immigration law (referred to as indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the Immigration Act 1971 entitling them to stay indefinitely

  • EU citizens and their family members who arrive by 31 December 2020, but won't have been continuously resident for 5 years, will be eligible for 'pre-settled status' under immigration law (referred to as leave to remain (LTR) under the Immigration Act 1971) enabling them to stay until they reach the 5 year threshold for 'settled status'

  • Close family members (spouses, civil and unmarried partners, dependent children and grandchildren, and dependent parents and grandparents) living overseas will still be able to join EU citizens resident here where the relationship existed on 31 December 2020 and continues to exist when the person comes to the Isle of Man – future children are also protected

Application and assessment of Settlement Scheme applications

EU citizens and their family members resident before the end of the Implementation Period on 31 December 2020 are eligible to apply.

The UK has agreed with the EU that the conditions for EU citizens and their family members to get settled status in the UK will be the same as, or more generous than, those set out in the existing Free Movement Directive.

Those applying under the scheme will be only required to complete 3 key steps:

  • proving their identity
  • show they live in the UK
  • have no serious criminal convictions

The application fee will be:

  • £65 for adults (the same as the current fee for a permanent residence document)
  • £32.50 for children under the age of 16

For those already in possession of a permanent residence document or Indefinite Leave to Remain, obtaining a Settled Status document will be free of charge.

The application process will be streamlined, quick, simple and user-friendly.

The applicant will not be required to show they meet the requirements of the current free movement rules, for example comprehensive sickness insurance.

Registration Scheme during the Implementation Period

The Isle of Man will be operating a Registration Scheme in line with that of the UK.

EU citizens and their family members who arrive in the UK during the implementation period will be able to live, work and study as they do now, but they will need to register if they intend to stay longer than 3 months.

The Registration Scheme is separate to the Settlement Scheme, EU nationals who arrive in the UK between 30 March 2019 and 31 December 2020 will need to register under the registration scheme if they intend to remain in the UK for more than 3 months, and apply for pre-settled status under the Settlement Scheme if they wish to remain in the UK after 31 December 2020.

The UK has indicated that this registration scheme will be used as a tool to help Government prepare for the future immigration framework, by developing a better understanding of those coming to the country in the long term. 

Further details about this Registration Scheme will be published as soon as possible.

Implementation Period, Grace Period, Future Immigration Controls

The table below shows the current timeline from 29 March 2019

29 March 2019

 31 Dec 2020

 1 Jan to 30 June 2021 30 June 2021 
Settlement Scheme begins Settlement Scheme is closed to new applicants Grace period for those eligible to apply for the Settlement Scheme closes
Implementation Period Grace Period – 
New EU arrivals will follow future immigration controls		 Future Immigration controls
Arrived in IOM before 29 Mar 2019 and will have lived here for 5 years by 31 Dec 2020 Apply for 'settled status' Mandatory to hold 'settled status'
Arrived in IOM before 29 Mar 2019 but won't have lived here for 5 years by 31 Dec 2021 Apply for 'pre-settled status' Mandatory to hold a 'pre-settled status' – may apply for 'settled status' after accumulating 5 total years residence
Arrived in IOM between 29 Mar 2019 and 31 Dec 2020 Required to register on the Registration Scheme after 3 months

Must also apply for 'pre-settled status' if they plan to remain in the Isle of Man

No deal scenario

In the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario when the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, there will continue to be a Scheme for EU nationals and this will be introduced into the Immigration Rules as an Appendix. The UK has confirmed that in this scenario, the Settlement Scheme will continue to run until 31 December 2020 as planned, despite there being no agreed implementation period. However, there will not be a six month “grace period” for applications after this date. The new immigration system will be implemented from 1 January 2021.

EU citizens with settled status may be joined by 29 March 2022 by existing close family members where the relationship existed by 29 March. EU citizens with settled status may also be joined by future spouses and partners (where the relationship was established after exit) and other dependent relatives until 31 December 2020. After these dates, the future immigration controls will apply to such family reunions.

More information is available in the paper published by the UK Department for Exiting the European Union

Current European Economic Area Regulations

There is no requirement for EU citizens and their family members who are here in the Isle of Man before the UK withdraws from the EU on 29 March 2019 to seek permanent residence documentation, unless they are applying to be naturalised as a British citizen.

The current criteria for obtaining a permanent residence document is set out in the:

  • Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2009
  • Immigration (European Economic Area) (Amendment) Regulations 2012.

The application form can also be collected from the Immigration Office.

Citizens' right – UK and Irish nationals in the Common Travel Area

The UK reached agreement in December 2017 which ensures the rights enjoyed by British and Irish citizens under the Common Travel Area (CTA) are protected after the UK leaves the EU.

This means that no UK or Irish nationals will be required to apply for settled status to protect their entitlements in Ireland and the UK respectively.

There will also be full protection and maintenance of the current arrangements for journeys between the UK and Ireland. This includes movement across the land border between Northern Ireland, protecting the uninhibited movement enjoyed today.

More information about UK and Irish Nationals' rights in the CTA on GOV.UK.

Isle of Man European Union Advisory Group

The Isle of Man European Union Advisory Group was established, following the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to leave the European Union (EU), chaired by the Chief Secretary Will Greenhow, and comprising of senior officers from the Cabinet Office, the Treasury, Her Majesty’s Attorney Generals Chambers and the Departments for Enterprise, and for Environment, Food and Agriculture. It can co-opt other relevant officers as required. The Group reports directly to the Council of Ministers.

Officers from the Isle of Man Government have continued to work with relevant officials from across the UK Government to set out the Isle of Man’s priorities and discuss the implications of withdrawal for the Island and which has helped to inform the UK’s negotiating position.

Preparatory work in the Isle of Man Government continues across a number of fronts and includes:

  • dealing with the legislative impact of withdrawal
  • engaging with the UK at a political and official level to set out the Island’s priorities, and to build relationships with key officials in the UK Government
  • identifying and conducting further research on potential opportunities and threats
  • assessing the longer term technical and legal processes which will support the Island’s position in relation to the World Trade Organisation, and the UK’s new Free Trade Agreements
  • plan for with UK Home Office, Her Majesty’s Passport Office, Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar new Passport documents and Passport Issuance Provisions for when UK leaves European Union

Having the ability to access a much needed workforce from off Island to support our growing economy and bridge the gap between the number of job vacancies and our own home grown workforce means that this has been one of the key priorities for the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers and so has been included as part of the central focus on the implications for the IOM arising from the referendum decision since June 2016.

Our 2016 Isle of Man Census indicates there are 4,184 EU citizens living and working in the Isle of Man. The September 2017 Economic Affairs Labour Market Report indicates the Island has a working population of 42,777, and of these 2,861 are European Union (EU) nationals which is 6.7% of the Islands working population (by comparison Jersey has 22,000 EU nationals, representing 25% of their workforce). 

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