WE ARE NOT
QUEUE JUMPERS'
21.11.18
If you're angered by the PM's recent comments labelling EU citizens 'queue jumpers' - please write to your MP to remind them to stand firm against a repeat of the toxic rhetoric in the EU referendum. Use our statement and add your own cover email.
JOINT LETTER BY THE3MILLION, BRITISH IN EUROPE AND UNISON TO THERESA MAY PM, HANDED IN AT 10 DOWNING STREET ON 05.11.18
05.11.18
As part of our third Mass Lobby of Parliament, we formed a human chain from Parliament Square to Downing Street, and handed this letter to a representative of Theresa May. Later that day, Robin Walker, Undersecretary of State for DexEU, came to our committee room, of his own accord, to answer questions, so let's hope the content of the letter was taken on board!
FURTHER LOSS OF FAMILY REUNIFICATION RIGHTS FOR
BRITISH IN EUROPE AND THE3MILLION AFTER BREXIT
19.10.18
Some of you would have heard of the Surinder Singh case. We are publishing our recommendation to the negotiators to add a provision in the draft Withdrawal Agreement to apply Surinder Singh rights to EU citizens in the UK returning to their country of origin with their non-EU spouses, and to British citizens in the EU returning to the UK with their EU spouses, to avoid a loss of family reunification rights after Brexit.
OPEN LETTER to DOMINIC RAAB and MICHEL BARNIER by
BRITISH IN EUROPE AND THE3MILLION
04.09.18
British in Europe and the3million have written an open letter to the UK and EU Brexit negotiators to call on them to end the extreme legal uncertainty for citizens on either side of the Brexit divide in case of a no-deal scenario.
BRITISH IN EUROPE AND THE3MILLION ISSUE A JOINT PAPER
29.08.18
British in Europe and the3million remain deeply concerned that citizens’ rights are still far from being truly ‘safeguarded’. More will need to be done in the final phase of the negotiations in order to protect citizens' rights under the draft Withdrawal Agreement (WA) published in March 2018. However, this will all be in vain in the event of a No Deal cliff-edge scenario, which would leave us without any legal status at all. Regrettably, there seems to be no contingency plan either in the EU or in the UK for this eventuality.
the3million and British in Europe have repeatedly called for the final agreement on citizens’ rights to be ring-fenced from the rest of the WA so that it may come into force regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. Download the full paper sent to both UK and EU parties today, on the right.
3.6 MILLION EU CITIZENS IN THE UK
IN THE CASE OF NO DEAL?
3 August 2018
The rhetoric of 'no deal' has heated up in recent weeks and the critical question for 3.6 EU citizens living in the UK is quite simple:
What will happen to us in the case of no deal?
So, would all our rights disappear on 29 March 2019 at 11PM if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement? Will we be able to get on with our lives? How will it affect us?
Stijn Smismans (professor of EU Law at Cardiff University) tries to answer these emotional questions in an enlightening article.
In summary, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provides a temporary cover so we will not be in a legal limbo on 30 March 2019, but it will be a matter of days, weeks or months before new legislation is adopted, which can have the effect to change dramatically our lives.
Please note this article does not constitute legal advice and you should seek professional help if you have questions relating to your personal situation.
16/07/2018
The UK Government's 'Statement of Intent' is not fit for purpose and will endanger the lives of EU citizens in the UK.
Following the publication of the "EU Settlement Scheme: Statement of Intent" (SOI) by the UK Home Office on 21 June 2018, we are pleased to share with you a detailed analysis of the document and of the accompanying draft Immigration Rules by the3million.
We have also updated our Questions to the Home Office document showing which questions have been addressed and which are still unclear or outstanding.
Whilst the3million welcome the publication of the SOI and the draft Rules, and acknowledge some positives (for example a waived or reduced fee in some circumstances, and a promise to contact applicants in order to remedy an application that is not valid or complete), we remain deeply concerned that citizens' rights have not been safeguarded.
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Our analysis paper outlines our most pressing concerns regarding:
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The legal uncertainty which both the SOI and the draft Rules, and thus our future status and rights, are still premised on despite all the political promises.
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The transparency and fairness of the application process, which is still likely to penalise thousands of EU citizens among the hardest to reach and those in the most precarious and vulnerable circumstances.
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The overall inclusiveness of the proposed Settlement Scheme, given the unprecedented scale and nature of the challenge ahead and of the very serious consequences for people if, for any reason, they will not be granted a new immigration status under the scheme.
As you will see from our 150 questions document, which has been colour coded for ease of reference, most of the questions we have posed to the Home Office regarding the Settlement Scheme still remain unanswered. This is very concerning and does not bode well for the successful implementation of the scheme. In essence, we are still not reassured that our future status and rights will indeed be as ‘settled’ or permanent as was promised; that all who are eligible for the new status will be able to obtain it through an “easy three-step” application process before the end of the ‘grace’ period on 30 June 2021; and that many will not be discriminated against and fall into the UK ‘hostile environment’ either before or after obtaining settled status. We hope that our concerns and questions will be taken into consideration and will help to inform the debate going forward.
11/06/2018
We are proposing a protocol to resolve the question of guarantees of EU citizens' rights
Our advocacy campaign seeks clarity and guarantee. We might get clarity when the Government answers our 150 questions about settled status but the Withdrawal Agreement cannot give us legal guarantees about settled status due to the nature of European law so we are seeking guarantee through an complementary protocol.
You can download our proposed protocol here
You can download our supporting paper on why direct effect is not enough here
06/06/2018
Parliamentary briefing for the Brexit Select Committee
As the Brexit negotiations are progressing to its ultimate outcome, the Brexit Select Committee asked the3million to present new evidence regarding citizens' rights.
You can download our 5-page briefing here.
During the hearing, we talked about the following issues:
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Draft Withdrawal Agreement (WA) - What is included; what it isn't
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Lifelong right to return (or rather lack of)
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Ring-fencing citizens' rights deal to mitigate risk of 3 million EU citizens becoming 'illegal immigrants' on 29 March 2019
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How will the Withdrawal Agreement be implemented in UK law (so EU citizens have guarantee they can get on their their lives)?
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How much certainty is there for EU citizens? (not many at the moment)
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How will settled status be implemented?
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How the Government is planning to engage with 3.6 million EU citizens?
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Has there been any progress about the 150 questions the3million submitted to immigration minister @carolinenokes in April? So far, none
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What's the difference between a declaratory or a constitutive settled status scheme? The answer is the #HostileEnvironment
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What about vulnerable EU citizens at risk? Who are they? How do we talk to them and gain their trust?
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How do we rate the Government’s proposed support (home visits, library appointments, phone calls)?
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The issue with the immigration data exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018. How can we trust the system if the Home Office can cover up its errors? (reminder: current error rate is 10%)
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What about the hostile environment? How can we prevent EU citizens being targeted?
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What about the ‘independent authority’ to provide oversight over the Home Office and the 3.6 million applications? Here, the words 'Independent' and 'Authority' matter, meaning it cannot sit within the British State