Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens living in south and west London apply to stay in the UK after Brexit

Hundreds of thousands of EU citizens living in south and west London have applied to stay in the country after Brexit.

Data released by the Home Office shows that 313,690 people from the areas have applied for settled status, which will need to be secured by December 31.

By that deadline, the country will have cut all ties with the European Union’s single market, meaning EU residents will start needing visas to live and work in the UK.

The Home Office published new data showing the volume of Settled Status applications it received between August and December 31 last year, from every borough in the country. Data from January 1 has not yet been released.

Lambeth had the highest number of applications, at nearly 40,000, with Italian, Spanish and Portuguese residents making up the bulk of numbers.

The data shows 35,110 EU citizens in Wandsworth have made the application, out of an estimated 41,000 affected residents in the borough.

Of those who have already applied, 7,030 were Italians, 4,300 were Spaniards and 3,620 were Poles.

Wandsworth council leader Ravi Govindia said the council had contacted 23,000 EU nationals who made Wandsworth their home and had supported residents and council staff with ID checks free of charge.

He said: “From the very beginning of 2017 we decided that we needed to reassure these people, those who made Wandsworth their home, who are our neighbours, our friends, those who have contributed to our economy, that they should be helped to make their immigration status certain.”

About 156,000 people live in the affluent borough of Kensington and Chelsea – renowned for its French community.

And 18,920 Settled Status applications have been sent from there by EU residents.

Nearly 28,000 Settled Status applications came from Westminster, which stretches from Pimlico to Paddington and Little Venice.

A spokeswoman for Westminster council said: “If you’re one of the 30,000 EU citizens living in Westminster or 55,000 businesses that could be affected by Brexit, we’re here to help.

“We value the contribution you make to your local communities. That’s why we’ve put in place support so you can continue to live, work and feel welcome in the city.”

The borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has a similar sized population of roughly 30,000 EU citizens. And the Home Office data showed that 24,460 applications were sent from there.

The data also showed which EU countries the applicants were originally from.

Among those who applied from Hammersmith and Fulham were 5,240 Italians, 3,650 French, 3,340 Spanish, 1,690 Portuguese and 1,560 Poles.

Kensington and Chelsea’s biggest EU communities were the French (3,610) and Italians (4,110). Westminster’s biggest groups were Italians (5,580) and Spanish (3,150).

Residents with Irish citizenship do not have to apply for Settled Status to stay in the UK, because both countries are part of the Common Travel Area.

Top, a banner in Fulham Broadway encouraging EU citizens to apply for Settled Status.