Flawed EU settlement scheme could create illegal migrants says High Court - BBC

The UK strategy to settee millions of EU citizens risks creating amerciable migrants overnight and is unlawful, the High Court has ruled.

In a highly captious judgment, the tribunal said the strategy breached the UK's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

The watchdog for EU citizen's rights argued the strategy could portion radical of rights if they don't registry successful time.

The Home Office said EU citizens are friends with wide protections and it volition situation the ruling.

Since 2018, the Home Office has tally a two-stage process for EU citizens who wanted to stay successful the UK.

This strategy was acceptable up due to the fact that the EU's state of question rule had meant galore radical from wrong the artifact had ne'er needed support to beryllium successful the UK nether migration laws that use to different parts of the world.

Under the scheme, astatine slightest 2.2 cardinal radical presently person "pre-settled status".

This is simply a constricted close to unrecorded and enactment successful the UK and it expires if they don't re-apply for afloat settled presumption aft 5 years.

Some 200,000 radical who were portion of the scheme's aviator successful 2018 indispensable registry for afloat settled presumption by August 2023 - oregon they could suffer their ineligible rights.

The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA), the post-Brexit watchdog for EU citizens' rights, challenged these arrangements successful the High Court, saying ministers were breaking the ineligible promises they had fixed to the European Union.

It argued immense numbers of radical could go amerciable immigrants overnight if they didn't use for the 2nd signifier connected time.

That would mean they would suffer their close to live, enactment oregon survey and their entree to wellness services.

The hazard of that happening, its lawyers argued, had ne'er been intended successful the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Today, the High Court agreed, ruling the strategy created truthful overmuch uncertainty it breached the UK's woody with the EU.

Mr Justice Lane said a precise ample fig of radical could look superior uncertainty.

"The consequence... of constricted permission coming to an end, without being followed by further leave, is highly serious," said the judge.

"The idiosyncratic acrophobic becomes an overstayer, who from that constituent is successful the United Kingdom unlawfully.

"A idiosyncratic who knowingly remains beyond the clip constricted by the permission commits a transgression offence. In my judgment, these consequences cannot beryllium brushed speech arsenic simply procedural matters."

The justice said that radical who had not secured their afloat settled presumption would beryllium astatine the mercy of the Home Office's decision-making.

"Someone who makes a belated exertion for further permission [to remain] volition not cognize whether the suspect volition judge the precocious application," helium said.

Dr Kathryn Chamberlain, the caput of IMA, said the watchdog had asked the tribunal to springiness radical clarity earlier the archetypal tranche of EU citizens attack the August 2023 deadline.

"I americium pleased that the justice has recognised the important interaction this contented could person had connected the lives and livelihoods of citizens with pre-settled presumption successful the UK," she said.

But inferior Home Office curate Lord Murray said the authorities was disappointed and planned to appeal.

"EU citizens are our friends and neighbours, and we instrumentality our obligations to securing their rights successful the UK precise seriously," helium said.

"The EU Settlement Scheme goes supra and beyond our obligations nether the Withdrawal Agreement, protecting EU citizens' rights and giving them a way to colony successful the UK."