Anti-Brexit demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London on October 22, 2019 | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images UK urged to scrap registration scheme for EU nationals The move piles pressure on Boris Johnson ahead of the Tory manifesto launch.

LONDON — Almost 30 campaign groups signed a letter to Boris Johnson and other U.K. party leaders urging them to avoid a “cliff-edge” for EU nationals living in the U.K. who fear for their futures after Brexit.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants joined forces with 27 other groups, including The3Million, Unison and Age U.K., to demand an overhaul of the "settled status" scheme that allows EU nationals to register for post-Brexit rights.

The letter was sent earlier this month, but the decision to make it public piles pressure on the U.K. prime minister ahead of the Conservative manifesto launch in the coming days, after the opposition Labour Party on Thursday vowed to change the scheme.

The groups said thousands of the 3 million EU nationals living in Britain will “struggle to obtain their status due to a variety of factors: a lack of awareness about the scheme, a lack of support or difficulty obtaining documentation.”

“No comparable application scheme anywhere has ever succeeded in reaching 100 percent of its audience, and it is unlikely that the U.K. government will manage to do so,” the letter read. “We know that it is the most vulnerable in society — including elderly and disabled people and children — who are at the greatest risk of falling through the cracks. It will be up to the new government to ensure that crucial changes are made to prevent hundreds of thousands of EU citizens and family members falling out of status and becoming criminalized after the cut-off point.”

The pressure groups want the system to be scrapped in favour of a "declaratory" regime, which would give EU nationals "settled status" automatically without the need to apply.

EU nationals living in Britain have until June 30, 2021 to apply for the “settled status” scheme if the U.K. leaves the EU with a deal or until December 31 next year if it leaves without a deal. Those who have been in the U.K. for five years are entitled to "settled status," meaning they can live and work in the U.K. after Brexit, while those who have been in the country for less than five years can apply for "pre-settled status," which allows them to retain the same rights and get full status once they pass the five-year mark.

But the pressure groups want the system to be scrapped in favour of a "declaratory" regime, which would give EU nationals "settled status" automatically without the need to apply. They said the change would remove “the current cliff-edge scenario which could result in hundreds of thousands of people losing status overnight.”

They also want all EU nationals to be entitled to physical documentation proving their status, rather than an online certificate, and to the right of appeal over their immigration status in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The groups also want clear guidance on people’s rights to be issued to private landlords and public services in order to end the “confusion and misinformation” around the current scheme, and they want an existing £9 million drive to ensure the most vulnerable EU nationals are encouraged to apply to be extended.

The Home Office said previously in a statement making the system declaratory would increase the chances of another Windrush scandal — in which British citizens who arrived in the country before 1973 were denied rights after being unable to provide documentation. It said EU nationals must register in order to obtain a form of evidence demonstrating their rights in the U.K.

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In its manifesto released on Thursday, the Labour Party said it recognized the “huge anxiety” that Brexit had caused for EU nationals and vowed to scrap the “settled status” scheme, replacing it with a declaratory system.

“This new declaratory system will allow EU nationals the chance to register for proof of status if they wish, but will mean they no longer have to apply to continue living and working in this country,” the manifesto said. “This will help ensure reciprocal treatment for U.K. citizens living in the EU. It will also prevent a repeat of the shameful Windrush scandal and avoid unnecessarily criminalizing hundreds of thousands of EU nationals.”

The Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party want to overturn the Brexit result and maintain free-movement rights under EU law.

According to the latest figures, almost 2.5 million EU nationals had applied for the settled status scheme by the end of October with just under 2 million applications concluded. Sixty percent of those were awarded settled status and 40 percent were awarded pre-settled status.

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This article has been updated with a statement from the Home Office.