With the Settled Status Scheme (the Scheme) deadline (30 June 2021) fast approaching EU/EEA citizens who have not applied for Settled or Pre-Settled Status must quickly do so. Especially given that, despite the Scheme being up and running since 2019, some EU/EEA citizens are being refused Settled Status despite living and working for years in the UK.
In April 2021, EU citizens’ rights campaigner Dahaba Ali, aged 27, was shocked to find her application for Settled Status had been rejected. She had been living in the UK since the age of 10 years. Originally from Somalia, Ms Ali and her mother were granted refugee status in the Netherlands before moving to the UK. A campaigner for The3Million, Ms Ali works as a producer at the BBC.
Following her application for herself and her mother in October 2020, Ms Ali received a letter from the Home Office stating:
“Your application has been carefully considered but unfortunately from the information available you do not meet the requirements of the scheme. I am sorry to inform you that your application has therefore been refused.”
It adds that although evidence showed Ms Ali lived in the UK “periodically” between February 2016 and December 2019, this did not meet the five years’ residency requirement.
Ms Ali’s mother’s Settled Status application was granted.
What appears to have happened is that Home Office emails to Ms Ali asking her for more information on her application had gone straight to her spam folder. Furthermore, no texts from the department were received.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Guardian that Ms Ali’s application to the EU Settlement Scheme was refused because she failed to provide evidence of her residence in the UK.
“She is able to reapply to the scheme by 30 June 2021 and we encourage her to get in touch with the helpline where our dedicated staff can support her to provide the requested evidence.
“We made several repeated attempts to contact her over a number of weeks – by email, phone and text – but the evidence requested was not provided. We accept a range of evidence and will work with people on a case-by-case basis to consider other evidence if necessary.”
Ms Ali, who is currently working with an Immigration Solicitor to overturn her Settled Status refusal, shot back:
“I immediately knew it was a mistake and I got help and took to Twitter. But if the process went wrong for me, then what about the people who are so vulnerable they don’t even know their own rights?”
“An obvious example is my own mother who can’t read or write. If her application had been denied, how would she have known? What would have happened to her? I just can’t help but think that if the Home Office had wanted to get hold of me, they would have sent a letter and tried a lot harder than they did with me.
“I think it’s going to be a huge issue after June when employers and landlords start demanding proof of your status. I just didn’t think it would be my case that would highlight it.”
The most common reason Settled Status is refused is the applicant fails to prove that they have been a resident in the UK for five years. In such cases, Pre-Settled Status is granted instead. Pre-Settled Status is more precarious than Settled Status, for example, you must not leave the UK for long stretches to ensure you are eligible for Settled Status in the future. If you have been granted the former when you believe you are eligible for the latter, you should contact an experienced Immigration Lawyer immediately.
Under the Immigration (Citizens’ Rights Appeals) (EU Exit) Regulations, which came into effect after 11pm on 31 January 2020 (EU Exit Day), applicants for the EU Settlement Scheme now have a right of appeal if the decision relating to the appeal was made after EU Exit Day.
If you received a refusal before EU Exit Day, an Immigration Solicitor can advise you on the best steps to take. Options include resubmitting your application or applying for Administrative Review or Judicial Review.
Strict time limits apply to lodging an appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal; if you are in the UK, you have 14 days to do so, whilst those lodging from outside the country have 28 days to appeal their Settled Status decision.
Finding out your Settled Status application has been refused and you have instead been granted Pre-Settled Status is a highly stressful situation, especially as the application deadline nears. Regardless of when you received the decision, contact an experienced Immigration Lawyer straight away. They will advise and represent you and ensure that your application under the Scheme is correctly granted.
Based in Birmingham and London, UK Migration Lawyers is one of Britain’s best immigration law firms. If you want more information on the EU Settlement Scheme, please phone our office on 0121 777 7715.
The dedication of frontline health workers during the Coronavirus pandemic has touched the hearts and minds of everyone in the country. And many of those who are risking their lives to help Covid-19 patients are non-EU/EEA migrants.
Out of 1.2 million NHS staff , 52,000 are nationals of Asian nations such as India and Pakistan. A further 18,500 are Filipino, and 6770 are Nigerian. Many of these incredibly talented, selfless doctors, nurses, and carers are in the UK on a visa.
To ensure the UK’s NHS can continue to cope with Covid-19 (it already had 100,000 unfilled positions before the pandemic took hold) the British government has offered to extend the visas of frontline healthcare workers for one year if:
The list of eligible occupations includes:
Your employer will advise you if your visa is due to expire before 1 October. To have your visa extended, you will need to post your and your family’s current biometric residence permits to UK Visas and Immigration. You will not have to pay for the extension or pay the healthcare surcharge.
Extending the visas of certain healthcare workers and their families free of charge may seem generous, but does it truly acknowledge the hard work and sacrifice of these nurses, doctors, and carers? What about those whose visas expire after 1 October? They would have worked through the period when Covid-19 was ravaging the country’s hospitals and care homes, yet their visas and those of their families will not be extended free of charge.
Pressure is growing on the government to do more. One area of contention is the healthcare surcharge, set to increase to £625 per year later in 2020. The healthcare surcharge is a charge that non-EU/EEA migrants must pay upfront when they apply for their visa. The cost is considerable; at the time of writing, a person on a Tier 2 (General) Visa must pay £2,000 to cover them for the five years of the visa. All family members must pay the same amount, so for two adults and two children, the upfront cost is £8,000.
Nurse, Carl Perez, from the Philippines, came to the UK two years ago. He caught Covid-19 in April whilst nursing in a care home where several residents died. He told The Guardian :
“It feels unfair that we are risking out [sic] lives on the frontline, and we are being penalised by having to pay this large sum out of our own pockets. We’re already paying for the NHS through our national insurance and tax,” he said. “It doesn’t leave much left for accommodation and living costs.”
In April 2020, a video with the accompanying hashtag #YouClapForMeNow went viral. It is a tribute to Asian and minority ethnic people, referred to as BAME, who work in the healthcare profession. It sends a message urging British people and the government not to forget the care they gave and the sacrifice they made when the Coronavirus pandemic is over. The video’s content is all the more important, given that nearly three quarters of NHS staff and carers who have died are from a BAME background.
The UK’s hostile environment to migrants has shifted following the Covid-19 crisis. “In a country where anti-immigrant sentiment gave rise to the Brexit movement, Britain’s healthcare system depends heavily on foreign doctors, who are now on the front lines fighting the epidemic,” says The New York Times . Even traditionally right-leaning papers such as the Daily Mail have applauded the contribution migrants have made during this crisis.
These sentiments may make us all feel like we are honouring the work and sacrifice of non-EU/EEA healthcare workers. However, the real test of appreciation will come when Coronavirus is a distant memory, and many of the migrants who got us through the crisis apply for visa extensions and/or Indefinite Leave to Remain. Will they be treated with sensitivity and respect? Or will there be more refusals on flimsy grounds , causing months, sometimes years of heartbreak and hardship?
Based in Birmingham and London, UK Migration Lawyers is one of Britain’s premier immigration law firms. Please phone our office on 0121 777 7715 to make an appointment with one of our immigration Solicitors.
When Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, he declared he would rather “die in a ditch” than ask the European Union to extend the 31st October deadline for Brexit. Halloween has come and gone , and Britain is:
For EU/EEA nationals, this new development does nothing but simply equals further ongoing confusion and frustration. Not only must they, along with the rest of the population, try toand keep track of almost daily changes to the political landscape, EU/EEA nationals cannot express their concern through casting a vote in the upcoming election .
Then, of course, there are the ongoing issues with the EU Settlement Scheme, which that may very well turn into another ‘Windrush scandal’ if certain matters are not addressed. More on this later. First, let’s set out the current state of the Brexit saga.
In mid-October 2019, Britain and the EU agreed a Brexit deal in principle, known as the Withdrawal Agreement. Note – this is not a trade deal. It is simply a document which sets out how the UK will leave the EU. It deals with certain key issues, namely:
Although the EU and the British government agreed on a deal, British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson had to get it approved by Parliament. And this is where things got rather messy.
Parliament granted preliminary approval to the Withdrawal Agreement. However, a mere 15 minutes later, MPs voted down legislation which would have paved the way for the Prime Minister to ensure Britain left the EU by 31 October 2019.
Following this defeat, rather than try and push through the agreement, the Prime Minister successfully fought for a pre-Christmas election. The EU had granted an extension to 31 January 2020. If the Conservative Party win a majority at the polls, Mr Johnson can push his deal through Parliament and the UK will leave the bloc in the New Year.
The EU Settlement Scheme opened fully on 30 March 2019 and will remain live until 30 June 2021. EU/EEA nationals who have lived in the UK for five or more years can apply for Settled Status, which will confirm their right to live and work in the UK without visa restrictions. EU/EEA nationals who have been in the country for less than five years may apply for Pre-Settled Status.
Applications for Settled Status and Pre-Settled Status can be made online. However, newspapers have reported many instances of Settled Status being mistakenly denied. For example, prominent chef and cooking school owner, Richard Bertinet, was granted only Pre-Settled Status , despite having lived in Britain for over three decades. This also happened to the Polish celebrity chef Damian Wawrzyniak , who has prepared banquets for the royal family and was a senior chef at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Mr Bertinet has since been granted Settled Status. In another case, a South Oxfordshire district councillor from Bulgaria was denied Settled Status for not sending in the correct documentation, despite living in the country for almost 20 years.
There are grave concerns that vulnerable EU/EEA citizens, such as those who do not have payslips, are elderly, or have learning disabilities will not apply or be denied Settled Status. And disturbingly, Home Office minister, Brandon Lewis told a German newspaper in October that EU/EEA nationals who did not apply for Settled Status before the deadline would be deported. The Liberal Democrat’s Home Affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine said she was “absolutely appalled” by Brandon Lewis’s deportation threat and she predicted “thousands” of people would be left undocumented by the “arbitrary” deadline.
So, here we are. For the second time in less than four years, Britain will go to the polls. For EU/EEA nationals, it is imperative to secure residency status as quickly as possible. If you are having problems with your Settled Status or Pre-Settled Status application, or your application has been rejected, seek advice from an experienced immigration lawyer.
Based in Birmingham and London, UK Migration Lawyers is one of Britain’s premier immigration law firms. If you have any concerns or questions regarding Brexit or the EU Settlement Scheme, please phone our Birmingham Office on 0121 777 7715.
Last week, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson gave the first clear picture of the Leave campaigns strategy on immigration following a Brexit.
If Britain leaves the European Union then, “the automatic right of all EU citizens to come and live and work in the UK will end”.
They followed on by adding that in the event of a Brexit, they would introduce a, “genuine Australian-style points-based immigration system” before the next general election.
Naturally, this has workers and employers worried. Although, it must be pointed out, if Gove and Johnson think they can end the free movement of EU citizens in Britain on 24th June 2016, if the Leave camp wins, then they are off in cloud cuckoo land.
Negotiations are likely to take months, if not years. Free movement is a cornerstone EU principle, and one that both France and Germany, Europe’s powerhouses, view as non-negotiable. Swiss citizens voted in a 2014 referendum to have the right to limit EU migration into the country – and two years later, negotiations are in deadlock, with Brussels unable to see how limiting free movement can be done without breaching the bi-lateral agreements Switzerland has with the EU.
We must also remember that any changes to the rights of EU citizens entering the UK made by the British Government are likely to be met in equal measure by other European States, something that makes the 1.2 million British Citizens who reside in them very nervous.
Currently, British employers can freely recruit workers from any of the 28 EU countries. EU nationals do not require visas and can stay in the country as long as they are exercising their Treaty rights, i.e. they are in employment.
To hire an employee from outside the EU, an employer must have a sponsorship licence before they can recruit an applicant on a Tier 2 (General) Visa. The employer will be responsible for maintaining compliance with the responsibilities of the sponsorship licence. Responsibilities include:
Even if you obtain a sponsorship licence, you can only employ non-EU citizens for certain positions. If the job you have available is on the Shortage Occupation List, then you can automatically recruit a non-EU national to fill it.
If the position you wish to fill is not on the Shortage Occupation List, then you must perform a, ‘Resident Labour Market Test’ and advertise the position. You must provide evidence that you were unable to find a suitable person in the UK before you apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship.
In addition, a non-EU employee who wishes to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after his or her Tier 2 Visa expires will have to earn a minimum of £35,000 per annum. Employers need to take this into account when strategising for their workforce needs and pay scales. If time and money are going to be invested into training a non-EU employee, it would not make sense to lose them after five years, simply because they are not being paid enough.
An Australian style points-based system could make it difficult for employers to recruit the staff they need, especially those who require low-skilled workers in sectors such as manufacturing, hospitality, construction and seasonal agriculture. Not only would the employer have to qualify for a sponsorship licence, but if a good knowledge of English and certain academic qualifications are demanded under a new system, many potential EU applicants will fail to accrue enough points to gain entry into the country.
And let us not forget, the higher skills equal higher wages – great for employees, but what about SMEs already struggling with staffing costs?
The impact of a possible Brexit on the UK labour market could be severe. However, the Government would be required to jump through some enormous diplomatic hoops to convince Brussels that free trade without free movement is possible within the EU without compromising everything the institution stands for.
Based in Birmingham and London, UK Migration Lawyers is one of Britain’s premiere immigration law firms. If you have any concerns or questions about how the EU Referendum could affect your ability to recruit foreign-born workers, please phone our office on 0121 777 7715.
Last week two events dominated the EU In/Out Campaign. One involved Emily Wood, a music producer from Poole, who furiously revealed her mother had been shunted down the housing list by officials who prioritise immigrants, demanding: “Where are we going to put them all?”
The second development which was hijacked by Leave campaigners was the release of figures from the Office of National Statistics which showed net migration to the UK rose to 333,000 in 2015, the second highest figure on record.
Immigration has been the most hotly debated topic surrounding the EU Referendum, which is to be held in less than a month.
In a passionate response to Miss Wood, Alex Salmond, former leader of the Scottish National Party, stated, “If we have a housing shortage we should build more houses, not kick people out of the country”.
Responding to the news that net migration has increased, Leave supporter and London Mayor, Boris Johnson, stepped up his bitter war of words with Prime Minister David Cameron, stating that the Government was cynical to claim it could control immigration while inside the EU and the new figures exposed the “scandal” of Cameron’s broken election pledge to slash numbers.
With the pressure mounting, it can be hard to see the wood from the trees when it comes to viewing both sides of the In/Out Referendum arguments. Here is our best shot at laying down each sides’ claims in an objective manner, so you can make up your own mind on how to use your vote on 23rd June 2016.
How will the vote go? Polls show support for remaining in the EU is ahead….but only just.
We will keep you posted.
Based in Birmingham and London, UK Migration Lawyers is one of Britain’s premiere immigration law firms. If you have any concerns or questions about how the EU Referendum could affect your immigration status, please phone our office on 0121 777 7715.
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