Heathrow to foot the bill to keep EU workers post-Brexit
Heathrow has promised to help EU workers to apply for the right to remain in the UK after Brexit in a move which could cost the airport hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Workers from outside the EU who have been living in the UK for five years on March 29 next year will have to apply for ‘settled status’, at a cost of £65 for each adult and £32.50 for every child under 16.
EU nationals who have been living in the UK for less than five years will have to apply for pre-settled status, which will allow them to remain in the country for a further five years, after which they can apply for settled status.
It is believed that Heathrow has up to 2,600 EU workers who might apply to remain in the UK, which could cost the airport at least £162,500 if it pays for their individual applications, or much more if it also covers the cost of applications for their families.
Chief executive John Holland-Kaye told Sky News the airport wanted ‘to give confidence to people who play a valuable role’ in maintaining Heathrow’s role as a hub airport.
He said: "We’ve seen a lot of anxiety. People have to make decisions about their families, housing, schooling.
"This has a big impact on their lives and creates quite a lot of anxiety for them. It’s extraordinarily stressful for them – how can you bring your best self to work every day if you’re worrying about those things.
"And yet these are valued parts of our team. They provide a hugely important role for an international business like ours in giving us a range of languages and a range of different cultural insights. We’re probably the most diverse place on the planet and we need to have an international team here.
"We’re the UK’s biggest port and we’re expanding and, as we leave the EU, ironically we now really need those international people working here to make a success of that.
"So we think a responsible employer like Heathrow needs to take a stand, not just to protect our own team but to encourage other companies to do the same thing."
If an exit deal is agreed with the UK before it leaves the EU on March 29, EU citizens will have until the end of December 2020 to apply for settled status. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, there would be no transition period and so the deadline for applications might be brought forward.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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