High Court hears case against the Home Office over the rights of 2.2m EU citizens with pre-settled status
The Home Office is being taken to court over the millions of people at risk of losing their rights to live in the UK if they do not apply for settled status.
The High Court will hear the case brought by the Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) on 1st and 2nd November. The IMA is the independent watchdog responsible for ensuring EU citizens’ rights under the Withdrawal Agreement are upheld.
The EU Settlement Scheme was set up by the government after Brexit to protect the rights of EU citizens to live in the UK. Those who had lived in the UK for less than 5 years before the end of Dec 2020 are granted pre-settled status, a form of limited leave to remain valid for 5 years.
People have to submit another application when they can prove 5 years of continuous residency in the UK, in order to obtain settled status, indefinite leave to remain.
The IMA claims it is unlawful under the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement that people lose their rights if they fail to submit another application by the time their pre-settled status expires.
the3million have applied to intervene in the case. The group representing EU citizens in the UK agrees with the IMA’s position that the government’s implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, through the two step process of the EU Settlement Scheme, is wrong and unlawful.
Luke Piper, Head of Policy and Advocacy at the3million said:
“The authoritarian way in which the government has implemented the Withdrawal Agreement means people with rights enshrined in law will be denied these rights if they fail to fill in another application before their pre-settled status expires. This is wrong, as their right of residence is not limited in time.
“This poses the threat of a scandal on the scale of Windrush and beyond. The government accepted that not everyone was going to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme by their deadline of 30th June 2021, and accepted late applications. They are still getting thousands of applications every month from mainly vulnerable people who could not apply in time. These people lost all their rights in the UK once they missed the deadline, and before they were able to submit a late application.
“In the case of people with pre-settled status, every single person has a different deadline. The potential risk cannot be overstated. Under the current interpretation, anyone who does not apply in time will not have an immigration status, affecting their right to live, work, travel, access NHS treatment, social security and housing in the UK and being liable for removal.
“We already see countless examples of people who are losing job opportunities, being denied housing and facing fraught travel because they are either waiting for a decision from the Home Office or they cannot prove their immigration status due to problems with the digital-only government portal.
“The first expiry dates of pre-settled status will start in August 2023. We need the government to swiftly take action now to rectify their position in order for EU citizens to have access to their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.”
Get in touch
For more information, please contact: Andreea Dumitrache, Communications Manager at the3million, [email protected], 07598 893045
