EU probation officer sues UK Home Office – EURACTIV.de

The authority responsible for protecting the rights of EU citizens living in the UK has opened a case against the UK government. It concerns the status of 2.5 million EU citizens who have been granted temporary residence in the UK.

The Independent Monitoring Authority for Citizens’ Rights Agreements (IMA) launched a judicial review process against the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday. It claims that the government’s position that citizens who do not apply for permanent residence before the expiry of their temporary residence period will automatically lose their rights is illegal.

Dr. said. Kathryn Chamberlain, Managing Director of IMA.

In the run-up to Brexit, the UK government introduced the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to citizens living in the UK in 2018. According to Home Office estimates, by the June 30 deadline, more than 5.5 million people had applied There were applications for the EU Settlement Scheme, and more than 90% of the applications were either ‘settled’ or ‘pre-settled’.

In both cases, EU citizens have the same rights to social benefits and services as UK nationals, although there have been cases where people of previously stable status have been denied access to social benefits.

UK ministers have argued that EUSS is more generous than many of the reciprocity schemes offered to UK nationals living in the EU. The Ministry of the Interior has since announced that it is looking for reasons to grant permanent status.

However, while about 57% of applicants were granted permanent status, 41% were granted pre-settlement status, giving them only five years of residency, with reports that applicants were unable to understand why they were only granted temporary status.

EU citizens who have been granted temporary resident status – pre-settled status – must apply for settled status before their current status expires. If they do not do so in time, they automatically lose their right to work, housing, education and social benefits and can be deported.

The IMA believes that EU citizens who have demonstrated their right to remain in the UK should not be exposed to such risks.

In its “Statement of Facts and Reasons” to the Supreme Court, the Immigration and Naturalization Act states that persons in “prior settlement” status who fail to file an application suffer “significant dire consequences, affecting their right to life, affecting employment and access to benefits in United Kingdom. The plaintiff claims that this is inconsistent with agreements that do not provide for loss of standing in such circumstances.”

[Bearbeitet von Alice Taylor]