Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken for EEA nationals’ settlement status to be verified by border officials after the UK exits the EU in the event that the secure online service is inaccessible due to (a) temporary system failure, (b) planned system maintenance and (c) cyber-attack.

Immediately after exit, EU citizens can continue to cross the border using their passport or national identity card. They will be able to use e-Gates if they are travelling on a biometric passport.

EU citizens will not be routinely asked to prove that they have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme after EU Exit in order to re-enter the UK but systems will be in place to allow border officials to make such checks where necessary. There are established contingency processes and procedures in the event of any interruption to systems at the border which border officials are familiar with.

Once the new points based immigration system is fully introduced, Border Force will be able to identify those individuals granted status digitally without the need for the individual to provide evidence.