Nearly 5 million people have been allowed to continue living and working in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme so far, official statistics show. As of the end of June, 4,908,760 people had been granted an immigration status to remain in the UK after freedom of movement ended following the Brexit transition period, according to figures released by the Home Office on Thursday. The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) enables citizens of the European Union, other European Economic Area (EEA) countries, and Switzerland who were resident in the UK by the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31, 2020, to obtain a UK immigration status. More than 6 million applications were submitted between the launch of the scheme in March 2019 and the deadline on June 30, 2021. Some 2.8 million were granted settled status, allowing them permanent residence. A further 2.3 million were granted pre-settled status, meaning …