Hundreds Of Lots Of EU Residents In UK Threat Unsure Status From 1 July

 

Academics are sounding the alarm about the lots of heaps of EU residents in the UK who face falling into legal limbo on 1 July with their right to lease a home, work or proceed in retirement at risk.

With just thirteen days to go before the government’s deadline for EU and EEA nationals and their children to apply for settled or pre-settled status, a report from UK in a Changing Europe warns of the risks ahead for those who do not apply by 30 June.

The academic campaign crew is worried that some who have applied but are still waiting for a decision from the Home Office – including children and the retired – could face difficulties if they can't prove their status when they attempt to access the NHS or travel.

The latest official records exhibit 320,000 people are still waiting for a decision on their status – settled status for those who have been in the country for more than 5 years and pre-settled for those in the country for fewer than five.

The UK in a Changing Europe report, titled Brexit and Beyond, warned: “If applicants can't show they have a ‘right to reside’, they will lose their rights immediately, even if their application is valid.

“This is possibly to affect most severely upon prone applicants with complex cases. Given delays in processing applications this difference in treatment could turn out to be pretty significant.”

The government has pledged that those on the waiting list do not need to fear and “a pragmatic and flexible approach” will be taken on late applications.

However, Catherine Barnard, deputy director of UK in a Changing Europe and a professor in EU law at Cambridge University, stated people ought to be aware of the legal significance of having status, regardless of government reassurances.

“In order to apply for settled or pre-settled status all you needed to be was resident in the country before 31 December. But in order to be covered after 30 June, if you have not acquired the status, you have to be exercising EU treaty rights which means you have to be in work, self-employed, a student or a person of independent means,” she said.

This means that children, the retired or spouses of an EU citizen who are from a non-EU country who have applied for but have not been granted status could be in difficulty, she said.

The other cohort at danger are those that did not know they needed to apply for citizenship, which could include older adults who have been in the country for a long time and do not consider the scheme applies to them, Barnard said.

UK in a Changing Europe analysis confirmed that just 2% of the 5.4 million applications for status are in the over 65s category.

Other inclined categories highlighted by forty five charities last week covered victims of violence, homeless people, children and adults in care.