EUSS Advice and Support in Leicester
From July to September 2025, our team in Leicester supported over 82 EU and non-EU nationals, assisting them with their EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) applications and providing one-off advice. During this period, we submitted eight applications and offered additional advice to 74 clients.
The complexity of cases continues to be high, with many service users facing difficulties in providing evidence of five years’ continuous residence in the UK. A new trend we are seeing is the need for Retained Rights to Remain applications, particularly among non-EU citizens whose EU spouses threaten divorce or are already divorced, requiring their ex-spouses to respond to the scheme regarding their own rights. We are also encountering challenges with children born in the UK applying for the EUSS. Many of these cases involve delays in obtaining EU passports from embassies, which can take more than three months. Parents are often unaware that paper applications can be submitted without passports, highlighting a need for awareness-raising in this area.
Recently, we have noticed an increase in the number of EU nationals applying to the scheme after having been homeless or destitute for several years. Our referrals continue to come from our key partners, SOCOPA, serving the Somali community, and Information Generale, serving the Romanian community. We are also receiving referrals through our wider networks, including the British Red Cross in Leicester and London, Women for Change, word-of-mouth referrals, and more recently, from rehabilitation centres in Leicestershire and Adult Social Services.
Outreach
In July, we provided an EUSS info session in person for Care Navigator Services, part of Leicester City Council (Social and Education Care). We attended their quarterly meeting and introduced our project in Leicester to all the participant. We also attended an event organised by Leicester University called Living Together in Superdiversity, bringing together people from different walks of life and showing their lived experience and research studies among different communities in Leicester.
Femina polish centre for women
In August we attended the Polish annual picnic organised by Femina, a polish organisation based in Leicester and offering many services and activities for their service users.
Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) | Changing lives for the better (valonline.org.uk)
We also attended the annual conference of Voluntary Action Leicestershire, “Focus 2025” which was held in a lovely hall in Leicester city centre. This event brought together people from the voluntary sector engaging in different workshops on key topics affecting the sector, sharing ideas and networking with one another.
EUSS Drop-in Sessions: We run regular clinics at Montfort University on Wednesdays and SOCOPA on Fridays.
Contact us for outreach work in Leicester:
If you are a community group or organisation which would like to discuss working in partnership with us, or for us to run a session with your staff/ volunteers on the EU Settlement Scheme, please contact
Marinela Bojaxhiu on marinela.bojaxhiu@neweuropeans.uk
If you work with someone who needs support with the EU Settlement Scheme please email: help@neweuropeans.uk
