• MMC

The new procedure, officially launched by the city of London this Monday, aims to ease the application process for European residents settled in the United Kingdom wishing to stay in the country after the Brexit.

The application, which is only available on Android for now (London is still negotiating with Apple for the application to be offered on the App Store), allows the applicant to apply in just a few steps. The first is to take a photo of the biometric passport and of the face of the applicant to validate his identity. The applicant is then directed to a website to provide information including his address and tax situation. Finally, the applicant must declare his criminal record, a heavy sentence may reject the residence application. The procedure costs 74 Euros (65 pounds), equivalent to a passport’s price.

Given the large amount of applications for permanent residence, London wished to simplify the procedure as much as possible. With nearly 3.5 million Europeans living in the UK, this application could allow up to 6,000 daily requests and the Home Office has already hired 1,900 people to respond.

For now, European citizens residing in the United Kingdom are awaiting for an exit agreement between London and Brussels.