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| EU citizens in UK used as guinea pigs for digital immigration system, MPs told | |
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| Many will face problems after Brexit unless they have physical card to prove right to remain in UK, critics say | Many will face problems after Brexit unless they have physical card to prove right to remain in UK, critics say |
| EU citizens settled in the UK are being used by the Home Office as guinea pigs for a future digital-only immigration system, MPs have heard. | EU citizens settled in the UK are being used by the Home Office as guinea pigs for a future digital-only immigration system, MPs have heard. |
| They will also face “significant problems” after Brexit unless the government provides them with a physical card to prove their right to remain in the UK legally, parliament’s Brexit select committee was told. | They will also face “significant problems” after Brexit unless the government provides them with a physical card to prove their right to remain in the UK legally, parliament’s Brexit select committee was told. |
| A lawyer for the3million campaign group said some feared they risked ending up like the Windrush generation with difficulty evidencing their rights with landlords and employers. | A lawyer for the3million campaign group said some feared they risked ending up like the Windrush generation with difficulty evidencing their rights with landlords and employers. |
| “There is a lot of mistrust in the way that government does things particularly the Home Office and that is that has come about … because of a legacy of mistakes and because some very, very bad things that have happened to human beings. And I think a lot of EU citizens are very worried that this will happen to them,” he said. | “There is a lot of mistrust in the way that government does things particularly the Home Office and that is that has come about … because of a legacy of mistakes and because some very, very bad things that have happened to human beings. And I think a lot of EU citizens are very worried that this will happen to them,” he said. |
| The comments were made to parliament’s Brexit committee as talks between the UK and EU over a trade and future relationship deal resumed with the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, and a team of 11 aides arriving in London on Tuesday. | The comments were made to parliament’s Brexit committee as talks between the UK and EU over a trade and future relationship deal resumed with the chief EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, and a team of 11 aides arriving in London on Tuesday. |
| A newly published transcript of an interview with the EU negotiator by a Lords committee shows there is little progress, with Barnier accusing the UK of continuing to seek“the advantages of being a member state” but with the right to diverge on regulations. | A newly published transcript of an interview with the EU negotiator by a Lords committee shows there is little progress, with Barnier accusing the UK of continuing to seek“the advantages of being a member state” but with the right to diverge on regulations. |
| He also warned that no deal would mean a cliff-edge from 1 January as the EU had no intention of phasing in border controls to ease things for business. | He also warned that no deal would mean a cliff-edge from 1 January as the EU had no intention of phasing in border controls to ease things for business. |
| “We will not delay things. As of 1 January, all products coming in to the single market - coming from any third country anywhere in the world, including yours, because you are a third country – will be checked,” he said. | “We will not delay things. As of 1 January, all products coming in to the single market - coming from any third country anywhere in the world, including yours, because you are a third country – will be checked,” he said. |
| The rights of EU citizens have already been enshrined in the withdrawal agreement signed in January but the Brexit select committee heard that anxiety about their future rights remained high. | The rights of EU citizens have already been enshrined in the withdrawal agreement signed in January but the Brexit select committee heard that anxiety about their future rights remained high. |
| “Words like angry, anxious, alienated, annoyed, unwanted, upset and unwelcome,” were the feelings cited in a survey of 3,000 EU citizens, which also found that 89% said they wanted a physical card. | “Words like angry, anxious, alienated, annoyed, unwanted, upset and unwelcome,” were the feelings cited in a survey of 3,000 EU citizens, which also found that 89% said they wanted a physical card. |
| Barbara Drozdowicz, the chief executive of the East European Resource Centre, a charity that helps vulnerable east Europeans, said often public officials were confusing “immigration status .. with eligibility for accessing state support” and the lack of a physical document evidencing those rights allowed mistakes to be made. | Barbara Drozdowicz, the chief executive of the East European Resource Centre, a charity that helps vulnerable east Europeans, said often public officials were confusing “immigration status .. with eligibility for accessing state support” and the lack of a physical document evidencing those rights allowed mistakes to be made. |
| Concerns were also raised at about EU citizens wrongly being granted pre-settled status. | Concerns were also raised at about EU citizens wrongly being granted pre-settled status. |
| As many as 1.3 million of 3.3 million people who had gone through the settlement process had been granted pre-settled status with fears raised several times in the past year that some people were accepting the inferior status without realising they were entitled to the full settled status. | As many as 1.3 million of 3.3 million people who had gone through the settlement process had been granted pre-settled status with fears raised several times in the past year that some people were accepting the inferior status without realising they were entitled to the full settled status. |
| Kuba Jablonowski, research associate with the3million, told of one dual Australian-Greek citizen who was bilingual and worked in the civil service for 20 years who granted pre-settled status. He was “hardly somebody who would you describe as vulnerable” and yet he made the mistake of accepting the pre-settled status. | Kuba Jablonowski, research associate with the3million, told of one dual Australian-Greek citizen who was bilingual and worked in the civil service for 20 years who granted pre-settled status. He was “hardly somebody who would you describe as vulnerable” and yet he made the mistake of accepting the pre-settled status. |
| Drozdowicz said the high numbers of people with pre-settled status meant there were likely to be problems in the future because many did not understand that they would have to re-apply at the end of the five-year qualifying period. | Drozdowicz said the high numbers of people with pre-settled status meant there were likely to be problems in the future because many did not understand that they would have to re-apply at the end of the five-year qualifying period. |
| Piper told of the serious consequences to those that did not reapply or the vulnerable, such as children in care or people with dementia who for some reason miss the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications. | Piper told of the serious consequences to those that did not reapply or the vulnerable, such as children in care or people with dementia who for some reason miss the 30 June 2021 deadline for applications. |
| Without the status, they would become unlawfully resident and lose their right to work, access to the NHS, to housing until they acquired a legal status. | Without the status, they would become unlawfully resident and lose their right to work, access to the NHS, to housing until they acquired a legal status. |
| Coram, the children’s charity, recently published a report on children and settled status. It found that local authorities had secured status for just 500 of the estimated 9,000 children and young people in the care system. | Coram, the children’s charity, recently published a report on children and settled status. It found that local authorities had secured status for just 500 of the estimated 9,000 children and young people in the care system. |