A legal body set up to monitor the rights of EU citizens after Brexit has been given permission to judicially review the rules of the Home Office, which affect up to 2.5 million European citizens living in the UK.
The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) has applied to the Supreme Court to challenge a decision by the Home Office to abolish the rights of people living in the UK less than five years before Brexit if they do not apply for status in time. of permanent residence.
The rules mean that they will be classified as undocumented migrants and will lose their rights to reside, work, rent a property or access services, including the NHS. In the worst case, they could face deportation.
The IMA claims that the rules violate the withdrawal agreement (WA) between the United Kingdom and the EU, which guarantees the rights of EU citizens who were in the country before Brexit.
Admitting judicial review, Judge Saini said that “the IMA case is clearly controversial”.
He added: “There is also a real problem with the potential application of EU law in the interpretation of WA.”
He said it was important in the public interest given the huge number of so-called “pre-arranged” statutes who are required to apply for permanent “regulated status” from the interior ministry before their pre-arranged status expires at the end of five years. in the country.
The judge said: “Resolving these issues is a matter of public interest, given the potentially large number of those with pre-arranged status (2.4 million people). The claim must be allowed long before any such person is exposed to the potential risk of failure to apply for regulated status. This date, I understand, is the beginning of 2023.
The date refers to the five-year anniversary of the pilot launch of the settlement scheme in December 2018.
Under the rules of the Ministry of the Interior, any of the 2.5 million people who have been granted pre-established status who do not apply for settled status will lose all their rights to education, health care, benefits and employment and access to the NHS. .
“We welcome the court’s decision to allow our case to be heard. This is an important step, as we hope to provide clarity and security for the millions of pre-arranged citizens, “said a statement from IMA.
“In the meantime, we continue to encourage citizens who have difficulty exercising their rights to inform us through our online portal.”
Campaigners, including the3million group, fear that many vulnerable people with pre-established status will fail the Interior Ministry test and could be deported.
These include children in care, the elderly, the homeless, people in hospitals or victims of domestic violence, or people who live chaotic lives and do not manage their records well.
Many others need the help of charities to deal with the Home Office system and may not realize they have to apply again after being in the country.
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“In taking legal action, we now hope to provide clarity to these pre-arranged citizens, of whom 2,485 million as of November 30, 2021,” said Catherine Chamberlain, CEO of IMA, when the authority filed its lawsuit. control.
IMA has successfully argued in its application to the Supreme Court for judicial review that, once they have proved their right to be in the United Kingdom, EU citizens should no longer face the risk of being deprived of their rights.
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