The UK Supreme Court declared unlawful part of the system created for citizens of European Union (EU) countries in the UK to maintain their post-‘Brexit’ rights, which in practice simplifies procedures and creates a cancels second verification of status.
The decision is a blow to the system set up by the Home Office in 2018, which introduced two stages so that EU citizens already living in the UK would not suffer the consequences of the departure of the country from the EU, better known as ‘Brexit’. .
London agreed to grant “settled” status to those who have resided in the country for more than five years and “pre-settled” status to those who did not reach that duration.
They should be entitled to a final permit after five years, according to the British system.
Currently, at least 2.7 million people are part of this second group and according to the BBC, the re-application deadline for about 200,000 people who took part in the first pilot program is August 2023. The government is denying them final approval, they will lose their legal rights.
The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA), set up to monitor the respect of the rights of citizens of post-‘Brexit’ EU countries, challenged these requirements in court and the Supreme Court eventually ruled in their favour.
The complainants alleged that the UK was not living up to its promises to the EU and warned that hundreds of thousands of people could find themselves in an irregular situation, without any possibility to work, study or see a doctor.
Judge Peter Lane warned of “extremely serious” consequences if the current situation is not remedied, although the Home Office has argued that the government takes the rights of European “friends and neighbours” “very seriously”.
Lane believes the system put in place by the government goes beyond the “obligations” set out in the EU Withdrawal Agreement, which is why he intends to appeal the decision.
Source: DN
