Brexit: More than 60,000 EU citizens apply to settle in NI

More than 62,500 people in Northern Ireland have applied to the scheme that will allow them to remain in the UK when the Brexit transition ends.

The settlement scheme is designed to give EU citizens - who entered the UK under the EU's freedom of movement principle - the right to remain.

The highest number of applications in Northern Ireland have, so far, come from Polish (16,890) people.

The next highest came from Lithuanian (8,700) and Romanian (6,310) nationals.

The majority of concluded applications (65%) have been granted settled status with 33% granted pre-settled status.

Settled status is granted to people who can prove they have been in the UK continuously for five years or more.

Those living in the UK for shorter periods of time can qualify for pre-settled status, which can be upgraded to settled status once the applicant has reached the five-year milestone.

The deadline for applications is June 2021.