EUROPEAN citizens living in Wales are being put off from applying to continue to live in the UK post-Brexit by the complexity of the process, a Newport MP has said.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Newport East's Jessica Morden said a number of constituents and community groups in the city had contacted her concerned about the process involved in the UK Government's EU Settlement Scheme.

The scheme was introduced by the government earlier this year and allows EU citizens legally living in the UK to apply for 'settled status' - meaning they retain their citizenship of their home nation, but will be allowed to continue to live in Britain after the end of June 2021.

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But Ms Morden said she had been told many were "slightly wary of the process" due a number of factors, including the language barrier.

"Although some people may have exceptional spoken English, not all of them will be confident in reading and their written English," she said.

"This is leading to a misinterpretation of some parts of the process, which seems, as it is described to me, to be quite complicated. People are therefore providing the wrong information.

"Those who are less confident are not likely to have rushed to complete the process so far, and there is a worry that older people, or those who are more vulnerable and with more complex circumstances, might be very reluctant at this point and may need help."

She added representatives of Newport's Polish community had told her very few residents had applied as they had been told making a mistake in their application may lead to them being deported.

And the Labour MP also said the process being based online presented a barrier to some.

"Local advice and digital assistance for those who need it must be put in place as soon as possible," she said. "The applications are almost entirely digital, which can present barriers to those without digital skills.

"Community associations have provided me with a number of examples of applicants being unable to upload documents and being removed from the system at various stages due to technical difficulties.

"The system does not appear to be easy to navigate."

Ms Morden also called on the government to make the entire process - only parts of which are currently available in languages other than English - available in a range of EU languages.

"The government clearly have confidence in how the scheme is running so far, but they need to be aware of the fear and uncertainty among those who were not first off the line to try the application, and among those who have tried it and struggled," she said.

Although the government had originally required a £65 fee to apply to the scheme, this was scrapped following criticism, and it is now free to apply. Anyone who has already paid the fee will be refunded.

The current deadline for applications is June 30 2021 - unless the UK leaves the EU without a deal, in which case the deadline will be brought forward to December 31 2020.

For more information visit gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families