EU citizens in the UK are “expected to beg, kneel and show remorse for not knowing” about changes to post-Brexit residency rules, says an organization that defends their rights.
Before Brexit became official on January 31, 2020, life for EU citizens living in the UK was quite simple. But everything changed after that date. Many people who had lived there for more than ten years and had obtained a permanent resident card learned that they no longer had the right to live there.
The Home Office explained to them that they had not submitted an application under the EU Settlement Scheme before the deadline of June 30, 2021.
However, a large number of European citizens claim that they were simply unaware of this change.
Facing outrage from those affected and their representatives, the government said in January that they could now be allowed to stay in the UK.
An insufficient turnaround?
The3million is a grassroots organization established in the United Kingdom to represent EU citizens living in the country following the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Its communications manager Andreea Dumitrache told Euronews that the government’s about-face would probably not go far enough.
Under the changes it makes, those who settled in the UK before Brexit and obtained a permanent resident card will now be able to apply late to the EU Settlement Scheme, but only in certain circumstances.
“The scope of these measures remains very limited and the majority of late applicants are still expected to face enormous obstacles in having their application considered,” estimated Andreea Dumitrache.
Around fifty organizations requested real changes from the government in a letter coordinated by the3million, but they believe that these are insufficient and come too late.
“We are disappointed that the Home Office still does not accept that having an EEA permanent resident card is in itself sufficient evidence to justify a late application,” Andreea Dumitrache told Euronews.
“People are also expected to beg, get on their knees and show remorse for not being informed; we fear this will lead to only those with access to legal advice are able to complete their request,” she added.
An Italian couple paid the price
Massimo and Dee, an Italian couple who settled in Belfast in January 2023, say they are victims of a lack of transparency on the part of the government since Brexit came into force.
They ran a small restaurant offering traditional Italian pizza and takeaway food, but soon had their business account and Massimo’s current account blocked by their bank.
The couple told Euronews: “We only found out when we tried to arrange a payment from a supplier and it didn’t go through. We contacted the bank, but they wouldn’t tell us anything and wouldn’t did not advise us on how to resolve the problem,” he added.
Dee explained that they felt “devastated, humiliated and worried”. Massimo, in particular, “felt abandoned by the country he had lived in for over 20 years, where he had provided jobs to many people over the years, paid his taxes and provided service to the local community. Little did we know towards who to turn to and have received faulty advice from several sources,” she indicated.
Before discovering the3million, Dee and Massimo contacted the Home Office directly. “They wouldn’t advise us on what to do, we searched government websites but there was no clear advice for people in Massimo’s situation who already had a card stay,” Dee pointed out.
Only after paying an immigration lawyer did they get clarification and an idea of what to do next.
Dee told us that she still feels a lot of anger towards the government.
ADVERTISEMENT“It should have specifically mentioned that even people with a permanent resident card (without an expiry date) had to apply,” she assured. “In fact, they should have contacted the card holders and informed them, as was the case in other countries with similar permits, such as Denmark,” she pointed out.
After much stress, Dee managed to get her business account reinstated after removing her husband’s name from restaurant management and changing his tenure details.
She explains that it took the bank a month to resolve the problem and that their business is now “ruined” and that they “will not be able to reopen it”.
The specter of the Windrush scandal
This kind of story is all too familiar to Andreea Dumitrache.
“Vulnerable EU citizens, those living in poverty, those from ethnic minorities or those who are not digitally savvy, may still be turned away, even if they have lived in this country for years, if they do not check all additional boxes,” she told Euronews.
ADVERTISEMENTShe is concerned that people who were aware of the need to reapply still risk losing their right to stay in the UK.
“Others will have been informed by the Home Office that they need to reapply following an erroneous refusal and will now be considered not to have reasonable grounds for making a late application,” she declared.
According to the3million, it appears that the Home Office is assuming that people will encounter a “trigger event” and will discover that they have to file an application at an already difficult time.
“People can live in the UK for years without a triggering event making them aware that they need to get status,” continued Andreea Dumitrache. “THE Windrush scandal showed this very clearly: many people discovered that they did not have proof of their status several years after the policy and law changes,” she explained.
The government ensures “continue to accept and review late applications”
The Ministry of the Interior claims, for its part, to have been clear in its new policy.
ADVERTISEMENT“Permanent residence documents issued under EEA regulations confirmed a person’s status in the UK under EU free movement rules,” indicated their representatives, specifying that these documents ceased to be valid at the end of the grace period, June 30, 2021.
“More than two years have passed since the application deadline for the widely publicized program,” they added. “In line with commitments made under the Citizens’ Rights Agreements, we continue to accept and consider late applications from those who have reasonable grounds for delaying their application,” they said.
Andreea Dumitrache, however, refutes this assertion.
“Politicians have promised that EU citizens will retain their rights after Brexit,” she recalled. “This government must take responsibility and change this culture of disbelief within the Home Office; the most vulnerable cannot be those who bear the brunt and see their lives destroyed,” she declared.
Under the terms of the Brexit deal, the UK must guarantee the rights of EU citizens living legally in the country before it leaves. In return, EU countries must do the same for British citizens living there.
ADVERTISEMENTWhat “reasonable grounds” ?
After the scheme closed in June 2021, the government promised it would accept late applications if there were any “reasonable grounds”.
Last August, however, Rishi Sunak’s lawmakers changed the rules so that unfamiliarity with the EU’s settlement program was no longer a justification for not applying.
The3million has now called on the government to take further action, saying its decisions are simply not in the spirit or substance of the Brexit deal.
The organization says its representatives are not doing enough to ensure that the promise of “reasonable grounds” be respected and accuses them of effectively removing the guarantees previously put in place for EU citizens to have full access to their rights.
While Dee and Massimo are on the verge of getting back on their feet, although not sure if they will stay in the country after the way they were treated by the government and their bank, thousands of other citizens of the EU in the United Kingdom are only at the beginning of their legal journey which risks being strewn with pitfalls.
ADVERTISEMENT“I’m having a hard time finding benefits (at Brexit)“, Dee told Euronews.
“We have always strived to source locally and support the UK economy,” she assured. “But customers want authentic Italian dishes, which is only possible by using Italian ingredients,” she continued. “Brexit has driven up food prices to such an extent that many family businesses have been forced to close their doors,” she lamented.
Dee, and many others, fear for the future of the role of EU citizens in the UK if the government does not make the necessary changes.
