Only six EU nationals have had their bids to settle in the UK rejected, while applications to remain in the UK have passed three million, internal figures show.

More than 2.7 million of the applicants have been granted permission to remain. The six rejected were on the grounds of “serious criminality”, where applicants are assessed to represent a “genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat.”

Under the Withdrawal Agreement, assessors have to use the EU definition of criminality, which does not exclude people with convictions of over 12 months. “A decision made on public policy or public security grounds cannot be made on criminal convictions alone,” the guidance states.

The 12-month rule - used as the UK definition of criminality - will only come into effect after the transition period ends on December 31 this year.

On top of the six, 12,950 applications were void or withdrawn and 3,280 classed as "invalid". Of the 2.7 million approved, 58 per cent were granted settled status, a permanent right to remain. The remainder were handed pre-settled status, which gives them temporary permission to keep living in the country and the chance to reapply once they have done so for five years.

There were 386,570 applications received for children under the age of 18, while 59,100 were from people aged 65 and over, just 2 per cent of the total. The report said: "Northern Ireland had a noticeably higher proportion of applications from applicants under 18 compared to the rest of the UK."

Polish (512,310), Romanian (435,690) and Italian (290,990) nationals have submitted the highest number of applications, according to the latest figures.

Most of the applications (92%) have been from people already living in England, with 5 per cent from Scotland and 2 per cent each in Northern Ireland and Wales. Almost a million applications were made by people living in London, the Home Office said.

The east London borough of Newham saw the highest number of applications to the scheme (68,510). Outside the capital, the most applications came from Birmingham (57,340).

Home Secretary Priti Patel described the scheme as the "biggest of its kind in British history" which would mean "EU citizens can evidence their rights for decades to come", adding: "It's now time for EU countries to adopt a similar scheme."

Caseworkers have been processing up to 20,000 applications a day, according to the Home Office, with more than 400,000 dealt with in October.